GHI APRIL 2008 55 + IGS Ground Services welcomes you to Keflavik International Airport, Iceland. For all further information please visit our website www.igs.is YOU WILL GET A WARM WELCOME AT KEFLAVÍK INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT IGS LOAD CONTROL SERVICE Tel.: + 354 425 0277 / 0279 (24 hours) Fax: + 354 425 0275 Sita: KEFKSFI VHF: 131.9 E-mail: igs@igs.is AFTN: BIKFXHAX For all operational handling requests. MANAGEMENT OFFICE Tel. + 354 425 0230 Fax + 354 425 0235 E-mail: igs@igs.is ÍSLENSKA SIA.IS IGS 36068 02.2007 staff member into a particular treatment category: it might be musculoskeletal, cardiac, cancer and so on. At the moment we have 23 employees who fall into the category of long term sick; five of these have back problems arising from baggage handling.” Before we draw the rapid conclusion that around a quarter of all work-related sickness in the aviation sector is down to musculoskeletal strain, Debbie points out that in fact six Aviance staff were also on long term sickness through stress and depression-related illness – and that this is merely data culled from a single station. “This is one reason why we are moving away from IPRS,” she explains. “There are increasing numbers of workers being affected by stress and these staff require specialist treatment.” In keeping with the changing scenario, Debbie underlines the importance of early intervention. In fact, she is looking at taking things back right to the start of the employment process for new recruits. “By having medicals, as opposed to selfdeclarations, we would have better background information on an individual’s health,” she admits. Where physiotherapy is required, the normal procedure is a series of sessions to remedy the injury. “This is followed by a conference to establish progress and whether or not further help is required. If further help is needed, at the end of that period the worker may well be referred to a specialist.” Needless to say, subscribing to such a facility is not cheap but for Aviance, the investment has proved worthwhile, with worker strains and injuries receiving prompt attention. This has helped encourage staff to return to work as quickly as possible. (It should be mentioned at this point that Aviance actually terminated its contract with IPRS at the beginning of 2008 but that it offers facilities for its personnel through The Physiotherapy Network). The centre continues to work with such companies as Plane Handling, AFSL and Air Canada. Working together Steve Enright, Servisair’s Director Health, Safety and Security Europe, recognises only too well the problems the industry faces over absenteeism due to injury and feels that whilst there remains much to be done industry-wide to ameliorate the situation, he is also concerned that elements within the sector turn a blind eye to reality. “Within Servisair we follow the advice and regulations set out by the HSE and CAA, whilst also taking heed of IATA’s publications. What is obvious, though, is that the regulations governing manual handling have been out there for a long time and unfortunately not everyone is following them. This is why we have chosen to work with industry colleagues and regulators to address the issues.” To that end, Servisair has taken a pro-active approach and recently embarked upon a joint project with Menzies and certain carriers at East Midlands airport. There followed a study into manual handling in which Servisair considered a host of topics ranging from baggage handling in aircraft holds to moving equipment safely on the ramp: anything, in fact, that might assist the handler and prevent unwanted physical strain. The situation, unfortunately, isn’t straightforward, as Steve notes.

56 APRIL 2008 GHI “Our main concern is that there exists a big body of people in the aviation sector who are simply ignorant of the issues at stake. There’s a huge responsibility here and education is really a must. We took the decision to co-operate as much as possible with our customers and the wider industry. As handlers, we are the primary experts at how to operate around aircraft: however, unfortunately, some carriers and airports don’t always respect or acknowledge our expertise. The handling community has to be brave and stand up to tell the carriers our concerns. Certainly for Servisair, if it’s not safe, we won’t do it. “Handlers have a lot of experience to bring to the table; after all, we are handling aircraft day in, day out, and are the experts at it. We ought to be consulted about loading cargo on passenger aircraft, to name but one example. It’s about the packing of cargo and not just about its weight: the handler is best placed to advise.” Certainly, Steve and his team have a lot to be proud of, with Servisair bucking the industry trend on accidents and incidents. is an important and growing factor but there is always a risk of staff injury if proper procedures are not followed. It has taken a while to clarify whose procedures should take priority and how the requirements will be measured and applied. “Another concern of ours is the absence of a benchmark: there’s simply nothing to measure against. However, through IAHA and its members, we are now looking at the possibility of sharing injury data in addition to the well-established aircraft ground damage data.” Somewhat worryingly, in an industry that is well-served by machinery manufacturers, Steve feels that suppliers are not sufficiently in tune with the realities of working on the ramp. “The GSE manufacturers don’t come knocking on our door,” he observes. “Indeed, we’ve asked companies about safety requirements, specifications and their ideas and we’ve met with a wall of silence. They design, they manufacture but they don’t necessarily know what we need. Some ramp equipment is archaic and this can make a significant contribution to aircraft damage and staff injury. To my mind, here is a huge area of opportunity for improvement and co-operation.” Lower still? One advocate for a reduction in the weight of individual bags at airports is Bob Newman, who is Head of Network Risk Management at Menzies Aviation. “I’m currently leading an IATA/ASG working group submission to amend the IATA/AHM from the current 32 kilogramme maximum piece weight to a more sensible 23 kilogrammes,” he discloses. “Passenger handling and baggage loading employees suffer a high number of manual handling injuries, which have resulted from handling heavy baggage, often in confined spaces. These injuries are both distressing to employees and costly for employers. Since the 32 kilogramme weight limitation was introduced there has been a general reduction in manual handling injuries sustained by baggage handling personnel. “We have seen increased pressure from Health and Safety regulators throughout Europe, demanding that the industry take action to reduce manual handling injuries. As a result of this strong focus we have seen an emergence of engineered solutions, both in the material handling systems within the airport infrastructure and in terms of GSE. “However, these systems are slow in development, are costly and are not readily available across the industry. There is a general feeling within industry safety groups that a further reduction to 23 kilogrammes (or 50 pounds) per piece of checked luggage would bring commensurate reductions in injury trends. “It seems that as carriers contract out their ground handling, so there has been a trend away from their installation of magic carpet and other in-hold systems, with them preferring to bulk load their aircraft and take advantage of the fuel savings that come from removing heavy, in-plane systems. “By reducing the maximum weight for a single piece of baggage, we are addressing the problem at source.” Towards an industry standard As has been noted, IATA has not distanced itself from the idea of a further reduction in baggage weight. Two interesting (albeit personal) comments were obtained from the association. “For us, attention to detail and a focus on staff welfare have certainly paid off. Whilst HSE statistics show the industry is experiencing a 17% increase in RIDDOR and reportable incidents, Servisair’s injury and strains have dropped by around 50% over the last two years, so things are going well. It shows that effective management and control systems backed up with first class training ultimately pay off.” He cautions that musculoskeletal injury remains a big threat with a need to continually focus on GSE and ramp procedures and how they interface with human factors. “Let’s face facts: ground handling is not a lucrative industry, and with carriers continuing to put pressure on costs, we have a number of hurdles to overcome. We can’t change everything at once so our only hope is that of phasing in change. However, there ought to be a level playing field for all, as defined by the regulators. Certainly, it’s our view that price cutters who marginalise safety should have no place in this industry.” Steve highlights a couple of key areas for future focus. “I don’t believe the co-ordination between regulators is as good as it could be. The handling of PRMs is a case in point, where the requirements of one regulator conflict with what is laid down by another. The movement of PRMs cannot be overlooked since it