{"id":2281,"date":"2026-04-29T09:45:31","date_gmt":"2026-04-29T09:45:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.safetyphoto.co.uk\/safety_news\/?p=2281"},"modified":"2026-04-29T09:45:31","modified_gmt":"2026-04-29T09:45:31","slug":"uk-firms-win-national-awards-for-innovative-designs-to-reduce-musculoskeletal-risk-for-workers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.safetyphoto.co.uk\/safety_news\/?p=2281","title":{"rendered":"UK firms win national awards for innovative designs to reduce musculoskeletal risk for workers"},"content":{"rendered":"

A civil engineering firm and an air ambulance charity have won national awards for designs that eliminate the risk of musculoskeletal injuries at\u00a0work.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Robots and bespoke roller systems eliminate manual lifting\u00a0risks.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Winners mark the 10th year of the MSD Risk Reduction Through Design Awards<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Designs developed with workers could inspire other employers to follow\u00a0suit.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Workers\u00a0at\u00a0two UK organisations\u00a0will\u00a0benefit\u00a0from healthier working conditions\u00a0after innovative design changes\u00a0to cut musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs)\u00a0earned their employers this year\u2019s MSD Risk Reduction Through Design Awards \u2014 now in their tenth year.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The awards, sponsored by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and the Chartered Institute of Ergonomics and Human Factors (CIEHF), recognise employers who have redesigned tasks to remove the risk of\u00a0MSDs\u00a0\u2014 injuries to the back, joints and limbs that are among the most common causes of work-related ill health in Britain.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

MP Coleman Ltd, a civil engineering and materials company,\u00a0won\u00a0the\u00a0main award. Workers were manually palletising 25kg bags \u2014 each handling around\u00a05\u00a0tonnes of material per shift \u2014 involving repetitive bending and twisting that caused lower back fatigue and shoulder discomfort. A robotic arm now picks,\u00a0places\u00a0and stacks the bags\u00a0automatically, with an automatic wrapping unit replacing manual stretch wrapping entirely.\u00a0Perimeter guarding (not shown in the photos)) and automated controls improve safety and simplify the workflow.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

No jobs\u00a0were lost; workers were upskilled into other activities.<\/span><\/p>\n

Before: Workers manually palletised 25kg bags from conveyor. This involved constant bending and twisting motions. After: A robotic arm loads bags from conveyor to pallet, which is then wrapped automatically<\/p>\n

Thames Valley Air Ambulance, the charity serving more than\u00a0<\/span>2<\/span>\u00a0million people across Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire, wins the Small to Medium Enterprise Recognition Award. Training manikins weighing between 20kg and 40kg had to be\u00a0<\/span>handled<\/span>\u00a0multiple times a day by two workers, with restricted space making\u00a0<\/span>ideal lifting\u00a0<\/span>postures\u00a0<\/span>difficult<\/span>,<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>increasing injury risk<\/span>. Bespoke roller shelving and a height-adjustable roller trolley, designed with equipment manufacturers<\/span>,<\/span>\u00a0health and safety specialists<\/span>\u00a0and workers<\/span>,\u00a0<\/span>ha<\/span>s\u00a0<\/span>substantially reduced<\/span>\u00a0MSD risk and\u00a0<\/span>made it a one-person task.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Before: Manikins stored on fixed shelving in a restrictive area, compromising workers\u2019 posture when handling. After: Custom roller shelving installed with a height-adjustable roller trolley, eliminating the need to carry the 20kg-40kg manikins to the training area<\/p>\n

Chris Quarrie, HSE\u2019s Chartered Ergonomist, Human Factors Specialist and chair of this year\u2019s judging panel, said:<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe congratulate both MP Coleman and Thames Valley Air Ambulance for reducing workplace MSD risks for their workers, hopefully their ideas can inspire others. This is the tenth year of the MSD risk reduction through design awards, and they demonstrate how design changes can eliminate or significantly reduce MSD risk \u2014 creating healthier workplaces.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Further information:<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

For more information on the award winners visit:\u202f<\/span>https:\/\/www.hse.gov.uk\/news\/msd-awards.htm<\/span><\/a>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

More information about\u00a0Chartered Institute of Ergonomics and Human Factors (CIEHF):\u202f<\/span>https:\/\/ergonomics.org.uk\/<\/span><\/a>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is Britain\u2019s national regulator for workplace health and safety. We prevent work-related death, injury and ill health through regulatory actions that range from influencing behaviours across whole\u00a0industry sectors through to targeted interventions on individual businesses. These activities\u00a0are supported\u00a0by globally recognised scientific\u00a0expertise.\u202f<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

HSE news releases are available at\u202f<\/span>http:\/\/press.hse.gov.uk<\/span><\/a>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A civil engineering firm and an air ambulance charity have won national awards for designs that eliminate the risk of musculoskeletal injuries at\u00a0work.\u00a0 Robots and bespoke roller systems eliminate manual lifting\u00a0risks.\u00a0\u00a0 Winners mark the 10th year of the MSD Risk Reduction Through Design Awards\u00a0 Designs developed with workers could inspire other employers to follow\u00a0suit.\u00a0 Workers\u00a0at\u00a0two…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.safetyphoto.co.uk\/safety_news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2281"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.safetyphoto.co.uk\/safety_news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.safetyphoto.co.uk\/safety_news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.safetyphoto.co.uk\/safety_news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2281"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/www.safetyphoto.co.uk\/safety_news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2281\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.safetyphoto.co.uk\/safety_news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2281"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.safetyphoto.co.uk\/safety_news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2281"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.safetyphoto.co.uk\/safety_news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2281"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}