Apex2 Back-Support Device Client journey Book a Demo
A worker wearing the Apex 2 stepping up into a forklift

Building and construction

Construction workers handle heavy, bulky and irregularly shaped materials across every shift, in dynamic and often unpredictable work environments. It's one of the highest-risk industries for back injury in Australia, and it's not hard to see why.

The common roles at risk
  • Labourer and general construction worker
  • Bricklayer and masonry worker
  • Concrete worker
  • Roofer
  • Plumber and pipe fitter
  • Drywall and plasterboard installer
  • Air conditioning and HVAC installer
  • Reinforcing iron and rebar worker
  • Framing carpenter
  • Flooring installer
  • Tiler
  • Equipment operator
  • Electrician
  • Scaffolder
  • Steel fixer
A construction worker in a hard hat and hi-vis vest carrying a bundle of reinforcing bar on one shoulder
Book a demo ///
The hazard

Where the load
actually comes from.

It's rarely the single heavy lift that causes the injury. It's the same movement repeated hundreds of times across a shift: bending, lifting, turning, placing. On a construction site that means bricks, timber, steel, plasterboard, concrete products, tools and equipment, handled all day, lowered into position, pushed and manoeuvred on uneven ground.

The risk builds through awkward postures, working at floor level or above shoulder height, twisting and reaching in confined spaces. Add time pressure, fatigue, poor site layout and limited access to mechanical lifting equipment and the exposure compounds quickly. By the end of the shift, the body has absorbed far more than any individual lift would suggest.

Reducing the risk,
and meeting the duty.

In Australia and other regulated jurisdictions, employers have a legal duty to identify, assess and control the risks of musculoskeletal disorders, including back injuries, arising from hazardous manual tasks. The focus of WHS legislation is prevention through risk elimination (if possible) and engineering solutions rather than reliance on lifting technique training alone.

Safe Work Australia
Reducing back injury risk and meeting WHS requirements in building and construction operations:
  1. Identify hazardous manual tasks
  2. Assess risk factors in those tasks SA2050 can assist organisations assess and quantify risk for each manual task
  3. Minimise risks using the hierarchy of control Apex2 is a mechanical aid designed to reduce risk when lifting and bending
  4. Provide information, instruction and training SA2050 provides comprehensive training and assessment of the Apex2 in the workplace
  5. Review control measures

One site. One injury. One audit finding.

A back injury in construction is not settled by the physio appointment. It is weeks of restricted duties, a site that runs short-handed, and a WHS record that follows the business into every tender.

What one back injury costs
  1. An entry on the injury register that follows the business into every tender evaluation.
  2. A trade short on site while the replacement is inducted and brought up to speed.
  3. A project timeline that does not flex to accommodate restricted duties.
  4. A WorkCover claim that stays on the premium for three years.
The other operations
Book a demo See the evidence