Background: An Australian Red Cross medical technician suffered physical injuries, including neck, shoulder, and wrist injuries, due to the nature of their work.

Principle Risk Identification: Medical technicians at the blood processing facility are responsible for processing donated blood and plasma and performing related administrative duties. This service relies on volunteers to donate blood and a network of trained employees to collect, process, and distribute the blood for medical use. While this critical healthcare role saves lives daily, it should not compromise the health and safety of the technicians involved.

The investigation revealed that the role was performed in a fast-paced and repetitive environment. The technician’s duties included repetitive, awkward, and heavy tasks, such as:

• Lifting boxes containing blood and plasma from a trolley onto a conveyor belt
• Unpacking boxes
• Scanning bags on a computer
• Placing labels on bags
• Loading bags into a centrifuge, requiring force and precise squeezing actions
• Pushing loaded trolleys of blood into fridges and plasma into freezers

These tasks were often performed at bench level, but some storage areas were at floor level, necessitating heavy and awkward lifting. The technician claimed these activities led to her injuries.

Investigation: Ted Dohrmann was engaged to investigate and provide an independent expert opinion on the risks and causes of the technician’s injuries.

Risk Screening: Through interviews and site visits, Ted gained a comprehensive understanding of the procedures and tasks required of the medical technician. He took measurements and weights of the tools used, assessed the volume of blood processed, and the speed of processing. Ted observed the heights of processing areas and noted the repetitive nature of the tasks. Despite shift rotation procedures being in place, understaffing often forced technicians to remain in the same area for extended periods, exacerbating the risk of injury.

Standards & Acts Consulted: Ted referred to several standards and acts to determine the responsibilities of the employer and employee in managing health and safety risks, including:

• Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004: Defines the duty of the employer to manage, monitor, and maintain workplace health and safety risks, along with employee responsibilities.
• Victorian Occupational Health and Safety Regulations 2007: Defines hazardous manual handling and compliance with risk control measures.
• Worksafe Victoria: Outlines employer rights and responsibilities.
• WorkSafe Victoria’s Manual Handling (Code of Practice No.25, 2000): Discusses risks associated with manual handling tasks.
• AS 1470—1986 Health and Safety at Work—Principles and Practices: A standard in effect at the relevant time.

Failure and PIF Analysis: Ted’s forensic investigation and consultation of relevant standards led to the conclusion that the technician was placed at risk by her employer. The high and likely unsafe mechanical stresses to the technician’s neck, shoulders, and wrists, repeatedly exposed over long durations, were identified as the cause of her injuries.

From Analysis to Action: Ted provided detailed recommendations on how the blood processing plant could have better managed, monitored, and maintained the health and safety of their staff. Recommendations included:

• Training and monitoring requirements
• Elimination of risks
• Limits on continuous work and task rotation protocols
• Equipment or alternative options to reduce risks

Conclusion: Information on the risks of strain, along with advice on risk control and strain injury prevention, had been widely available to employers for several years before the technician’s injury. Had these measures been implemented or recommendations from a professional like Ted been followed, the technician would not have been exposed to these risks, and her injuries could have been avoided.

Injuries to team members such as seen in this case study not only impact the business in financial and productivity, but significantly impact the lives and well-being of employees. It is the responsibility of the employer to ensure the health and safety of their staff are maintained to