The Road to Excellence in Prevention of Musculoskeletal Disorders: Addressing Barriers and Profiling Better Practices

Summary

This conference attracted a diverse group of stakeholders including labour, human resources, health & safety system and ergonomics consultants, and sectors including manufacturing, transportation, health care, retail, energy, technology, automotive, education and  government at the provincial and regional/city level. The conference provided a range of opportunities for profiling successful practices in Musculoskeletal Disorder (MSD) prevention. The format of the conference encouraged participants to network, share MSD prevention experiences and problem solve.

Dr. Jodi Oakman from La Trobe University in Australia kicked the conference off with a keynote emphasizing the contributory effect to MSD of both the better known physical factors and the less well addressed work psychosocial factors, such as work organization, workplace support and communication with managers.

Inspiring strategies in MSD prevention were jointly presented by front line employees and management from a wide range of sectors and organizations: Kitchener-Wilmot Hydro, Southlake Residential Care Village, BlackBerry, Horizon Plastics International, Ontario Power Generation and Maple Leaf Foods.

After lunch, a model of Workplace Safety Improvement was highlighted by Lynda Robson from the Institute for Work & Health, which outlined factors common to companies undergoing organizational change that resulted in injury and MSD reductions.

The conference then brought the pieces together by engaging participants in small groups to focus on their challenges and successful interventions in the three key theme areas of culture and leadership; process, tools and interventions; and training.

The conference themes and presentations resonated with the over 100 attendees and prompted them to think and act differently as evidenced by some of the post conference evaluation comments: