The Occupational Health and Safety Council of Ontario (OHSCO) has approved a new series of tools aimed at reducing the single largest source of worker compensation claims in Ontario.

The three new Musculoskeletal Disorders (MSD) Prevention Toolboxes will support the Musculoskeletal Disorder Prevention Guideline and accompanying resource manual published by OHSCO in February 2007. According to OHSCO, these resources are intended "to provide Ontario workplaces with a set of basic and simple to use tools and worksheets to help them with their MSD prevention efforts."

The first toolbox Getting Started introduces the components of a generic MSD prevention framework along with information and tools for recognizing and assessing jobs with MSD risk factors as well as potential prevention measures. The second toolbox Beyond the Basics contains a sample MSD prevention policy/procedure, a tool to help review your MSD workplace prevention process and a risk assessment checklist. The final toolbox More on In-depth Risk Assessment Methods offers additional tools and information to guide workplace parties as they identify and assess specific risk factors. For instance, the use of Snook Tables and the NIOSH Lifting Equation are explained in layperson's terms.

Despite these informative prevention resources, including the MSD Prevention Guideline, many believe voluntary initiatives will fail to stem the tide of suffering. In Ontario, MSDs account for 42 per cent of all lost-time claims reported to the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB). From 1996 to 2004, WSIB approved more than 382,000 MSD-related, lost-time claims, representing nearly 27 million lost-time days from work.

The Ontario Federation of Labour (OFL) and others continue efforts to convince the government an ergonomic regulation is essential in any overall strategy to eliminate the working conditions responsible for the development of MSDs.

Want to access OHSCO's MSD Prevention Toolboxes?

Getting Started

Beyond the Basics

More on In-depth Risk Assessment Methods

Want to know more about OHSCO's MSD Prevention Guideline?

Want to know more about MSDs?

Want to know more about the OFL ergonomic regulation campaign?

Want to know about Ergonomic/MSD training offered by the WHSC? Contact a training service representative at a WHSC near you.