Shift change WorkSafeBC research shows school custodians suffer a high rate of strains and sprains. A district committee wants to lessen their load. By Heather Young Reprinted from the March/April 2009 issue of WorkSafe Magazine with the permission of WorkSafe Magazine and WorkSafeBC.
A Clean Break While many of us struggle to keep our work desks tidy and our homes liveable, workers expected to keep an entire building in tip-top shape each day face a unique set of physical and stressrelated challenges. School custodians have just that job: they work to keep classrooms, offices, and school libraries squeaky clean and safe for hundreds of children, their teachers, and administrators. Their tasks include — and are in no way limited to — setting up lunch tables during the school day, hauling garbage, sweeping and mopping floors, cleaning washrooms, and during the summer, lifting and moving computers and other heavy items in order to vigorously clean windows, lights, and furniture. Because their jobs are so physically demanding, and they often work alone, it’s perhaps not too surprising that a recent WorkSafeBC-funded study reveals school custodians have a much higher
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than average rate of musculoskeletal injuries (MSIs). In fact, the study, made possible through WorkSafeBC’s Research Secretariat program, shows custodians suffer four times the rate of MSI injuries for all school district occupations combined. In addition to singling out custodial injuries, the study gives recommendations for reducing injuries among these important, behind-thescenes players — recommendations the Vancouver School Board (VSB) has taken seriously. “Based on the research project’s recommendations, our internal steering committee has already moved forward with several initiatives,” says VSB occupational health and safety manager Collette O’Reilly. “It’s all about keeping people safe on the job.” Injury Prevention in Action The project began when researchers Judy Village, an adjunct professor
at the University of British Columbia, UBC assistant professor Dr. Mieke Koehoorn, and University of Victoria associate professor Dr. Aleck Ostry applied to WorkSafeBC’s Research Secretariat program and received approval for funding a little more than six years ago. The researchers wanted to explore the working conditions for this seemingly hidden group, which reported a rather high injury rate of 11.3 per cent. As Ostry explains, “We really wanted to shine a spotlight on custodians’ injuries.” The research was produced in partnership with the VSB and the International Union of Operating Engineers, Local 963. It demonstrates that the way school districts collect and publish injury data masks the injury rates of relatively small occupations, such as custodial work. In the past, the district reported injury rates as a summary of all the occupations, and the relatively low rate of injuries among teachers tended to skew the overall results. The project fit the Research Secretariat’s mission, which backs “high-quality scientific research leading to a reduction in the occurrence, pain and suffering, and mortality from work-related injury and disease.” As well, a goal of this research is to find real-world applications. Research Secretariat director Ed McCloskey says the willingness of the VSB to make positive changes for
