Health, Safety and Environment
European Week for Safety and Health at Work 2007
This year's European Week campaign "Lighten the Load" is dedicated to musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs). The aim of the campaign is to support employers, workers, safety representatives and other stakeholders in improving MSD prevention. The European Week will run from 22 – 26 October 2007.
MSDs are the most common form of ill-health disorders at work, both in the UK and across Europe. Work-related MSDs affect one million people in Great Britain alone each year. Problems include back pain, work-related neck and upper limb disorders (ULDs) including repetitive strain injuries, and lower limb disorders. Raising awareness, prevention and management are all key factors in reducing MSDs.
MSDs are caused mainly by manual handling, frequent bending and twisting, heavy physical work and whole-body vibration. The risk of MSDs can increase with the pace of work, low job satisfaction, high job demands and job stress. There is also a strong interrelation between nervous and muscular systems: MSDs affect other aspects of workers’ health, and other health conditions can trigger MSDs.
The Branch is holding a USR forum on the 18 October 2007 at Oxford East TEC. We have a guest speaker coming from the Driving Standards Agency to give a presentation on the effects that prescription drugs have on driving to promote their campaign "Arrive Alive".
Arrive
Alive Road Safety Programme: http://www.arrivealive.info/
There will also be a presentation on MSD’s and examples of them in our own working environment.
Wednesday 24 October is "National Inspection Day" and Branch USR’s have been asked to use the day to carry out a full day of inspections.
More information
- The Health and Safety Executive EuroWeek web pages: www.hse.gov.uk/campaigns/euroweek
- Health and Safety Executive information on Musculoskeletal Disorders: www.hse.gov.uk/msd/index.htm
- European Agency for Safety and Health at Work: ew2007.osha.europa.eu