Everybody knows a tradie with a sore back, injured shoulder, or crook knees. Many simply accept that working through a sprain or strain comes with the territory.

But while soldiering on may seem like the best thing for the job, such injuries can have a significant impact on the construction industry if not taken seriously.

“It’s a sad and problematic attitude in our industry,” says David Sopp, who manages health and safety for Industrial Site Services.

“It’s a constant train of pain and injuries and I bet 50 per cent or more could be avoided with this kind of programme. There’s a completely different way to do scaffolding efficiently and well while protecting yourself and really taking care of your body, instead of just beating yourself up every week.”

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Working safer and smarter – not harder

With record numbers of apprentices and women entering construction, ACC has teamed up with Construction Health and Safety New Zealand (CHASNZ) to help change attitudes and get people on the tools working safer and smarter.

CHASNZ  the charitable trust is implementing the Work Should Not Hurt programme across the sector to ensure tradespeople can enjoy long, pain-free careers and retire when they need to - not prematurely through injury.

“There are many things Scaffolders and their companies can do to prevent injuries now, but we need a long-term commitment to prevent the wear and tear injuries that many people end up with at the end of their careers,” says CHASNZ programme manager Chris Polaczuk.

“At a time of unprecedented stress and demand in the industry we have to help Scaffolders to look after their bodies as well as their minds. We rely on them so much every day. They are our brothers and sisters, mums and dads. Together we can take steps to reduce preventable strains and sprains in the construction industry.”

A trades-wide issue

Sprains and strains are the Scaffolding industry’s most common injury.

In 2020, ACC received over 1200 soft tissue injury claims from the Scaffolding sector . This resulted in a total of 38,000 days off work, at an average of 33 days per claim.

In terms of productivity, it’s estimated strains and sprains cost the country 2 million square metres of scaffolding not being erected.

Scaffolding is plagued by injuries to the lower back, shoulders and knees, in that order. Scaffolders are also known to struggle with wrist injuries partly due to the level of tool use in the profession.

Many of these injuries are preventable and the Work Should Not Hurt programme aims to help the trade identify and solve their unique set of problems.

“These things can include reducing working overhead, getting work up off the ground, finding smarter ways of moving heavy stuff, having good planning and communication, keeping healthy and managing stress,” says SARNZ general manager Tina Wieczorek

“If you get injured it impacts your friends, family and work mates. Injury prevention can also positively influence other factors critical to business, such as retention, career progression, productivity and worker wellbeing.”

“It’s pretty physically demanding”

On any given day, Wellington Scaffolder Brayan Panaligan can be found building scaffolding all over the city in some of the most inaccessible places. When he’s not working in a confined space, there’s also a fair amount of heavy lifting involved.

Given the physical nature of the job, Bryan says understanding the long-term effects of sprains and strains - and how to prevent them – would be hugely beneficial.

“The spaces you to work in, you’ve got to contort your body in different ways to get into position. And when you’re in that position, you’ve got to contort your body again to lift gear. It’s pretty physically demanding,” he says.

“It kind of gets to a point where you might experience a little niggle and just work through because you’re in the middle of completing a task and you want to get it done.”

Take a moment to have a ‘hmmm’

Sopp, who formed an industry task force on the issue, says one key way to prevent an injury on-site can be as simple as taking a moment to think about the potential risks involved in any given task.

It’s advice he gives to all new Scaffolders entering the profession.

“It’s thinking a little differently and going ‘okay, how can I get this done without hurting myself?’ It can relate to everything a Scaffolder does all day long.”