Workload is defined as the total amount of work that a person is expected to do in a specified time.
Time pressure may contribute to high workloads or to tight deadlines. The major factors contributing to
musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) from the physical workload are repetition, force exertion, frequent
or heavy lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying of heavy objects, prolonged awkward postures and
vibration. The speed of movement, the duration of the task and the cycle time should also be
considered while assessing the risk of MSDs for manual handling tasks. Mental workload is defined
primarily as the relationship between the worker’s perceptions of the demands of the task and their
perceived coping capacity (MacDonald 2004, p.40). When reviewing the workload of a job, both
physical and mental workload should be considered.
The Design 4 Health National Manual Handling Campaign 2004 was conducted in Australia. The
campaign industry summary report showed that manual handling risk management has significantly
improved in the past five years. Particularly, with the increased promotion of safe patient handling in
the workplace, the audit results show that the risks of patient handling were well managed. However,
improvements are required in non-clinical areas such as kitchens and food services. Risk
assessments in these areas were not undertaken in a systematic manner and were arranged on an
ad-hoc basis. In some cases no assessment had been done. This audit result reflects the opportunity to improve the management of risks in manual handling tasks in non-clinical areas (Australian
Occupational Health and Safety Agencies 2005).