What this article covers
Manual handling is a leading cause of workplace injury in Australia, and the risk grows as the workforce ages. Redesigning how bulk materials move through a facility — rather than relying on training — is the most effective way to reduce that risk. For manufacturers looking to reduce injury risk, retain experienced workers and futureproof their operations, the article outlines why investing in safer material handling systems is a strategic decision, not just a compliance one.
Australia’s workforce is changing. As people live longer and remain in employment later in life, the average age of workers across many industries is rapidly changing. In this century, the workforce participation of older Australians aged 65+ more than doubled from 6.1% in 2001 to 15% in 2021. By 2050, about 40% of the adult population in Australia will be 55 years old or older, double what it is in 2026. Manufacturing, food processing, logistics and resource sectors are all experiencing this shift.
At the same time, many of these industries still rely heavily on manual handling of tasks — lifting, carrying, pushing, pulling or moving materials — throughout production processes. These activities remain one of the most common causes of workplace injuries.
The combination of an ageing workforce and manual handling tasks like heavy lifting presents both a challenge and an opportunity. Supporting an ageing workforce requires more than policy changes or training programs; employers need to take a closer look at how work itself is designed.
Designing safer material handling systems can increase workplace safety by reducing injury risk, improving operational efficiency and helping create workplaces where employees can maintain longer careers.
Manual handling remains a major workplace risk
Manual handling injuries are among the most prevalent workplace health and safety issues in Australia. Tasks involving repetitive movement, heavy loads or awkward postures place significant strain on the body, particularly the back, shoulders and joints.
These injuries are classified as musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs), which include:
- back strains
- shoulder injuries
- repetitive strain injuries
- joint and ligament damage.
Many industries encounter these risks daily. Workers may repeatedly lift bags of raw materials, climb stairs while carrying bulk bags, move packaged products between workstations or handle bulk ingredients during processing. Even when individual loads are not especially heavy, repeated movements over long shifts can place cumulative stress on the body.
Beyond the immediate impact on workers, manual handling injuries carry broader costs for organisations, including:
- workers’ compensation claims
- reduced productivity
- increased absenteeism
- higher staff turnover.
For businesses facing labour shortages and growing production demands, these challenges make it increasingly important to address the root causes of manual handling risk.
The ageing workforce factor
Australia’s demographic shift means more employees are staying in the workforce longer. According to workplace health and safety guidance across Australia, supporting an ageing workforce is becoming a key focus for employers.
Ageing itself does not mean workers are less capable or less productive. In fact, experienced employees bring valuable skills, knowledge and reliability to their roles. However, physical capacity can change over time, particularly when work involves repetitive strain or heavy lifting.
Research on occupational health suggests that ageing workers may experience:
- reduced muscle strength
- slower recovery from physical strain
- increased susceptibility to cumulative injuries.
SafeWork Australia shows that in 2025, the frequency rate, time lost, and compensation costs of serious claims generally increase with age. Machinery operators and drivers lost a median time of 9.4 weeks in 2023-2024 for serious injuries, with a median compensation of AU$21,900 paid per injury. In addition, the serious claim frequency rate was highest for those 55+, with 9.5 serious claims per million hours worked. That figure rises to 10.0 serious claims per million hours worked for those 65 or older.
When physically demanding tasks are repeated over many years, the likelihood of musculoskeletal injury can increase. Importantly, this does not mean older workers cannot perform these tasks. Rather, it highlights the importance of designing work processes that reduce unnecessary physical strain for everyone.
Workplaces that accommodate an ageing workforce often see broader benefits as well. Ergonomic improvements and safer task design help protect workers of all ages, improve productivity and reduce long-term injury risks.
Why traditional controls aren’t always enough
Many organisations already address manual handling risks through training and workplace policies. Employees may receive guidance on correct lifting techniques, posture and safe work practices.
Training is an important part of workplace safety. However, relying on training alone can only go so far.
In reality, some tasks remain physically demanding even when performed correctly. Repetitive movements, awkward positioning or high-frequency lifting can still lead to fatigue and injury over time.
Administrative controls such as job rotation, rest breaks and manual handling procedures can help reduce exposure. But when tasks are fundamentally designed around frequent manual movement of materials, the risk remains.
This is why modern safety frameworks often emphasise a hierarchy of controls approach — prioritising solutions to remove or minimise the hazard altogether.
In the case of manual handling, that often means redesigning the way materials move through the workplace.
Designing safer material handling systems
Engineering solutions can significantly reduce manual handling risks by changing the physical demands of a task. Rather than expecting workers to continually lift or transport materials, systems can be designed to move products automatically through production processes.
This shift from manual movement to engineered material flow can take many forms, including:
- mechanical conveying systems
- automated ingredient transfer
- ergonomic workstation design
- modular processing layouts
- controlled bulk material handling.
By reducing the frequency, weight and awkwardness of manual handling tasks, these systems help minimise the physical strain placed on workers.
In industries such as food processing and manufacturing, for example, raw materials and finished products often move through multiple stages of production. Traditionally, these transfers may involve manual lifting or pallet handling.
Introducing engineered conveying systems allows materials to move continuously between stages without repeated manual intervention.
The result is not only safer work practices, but often a more efficient and reliable production process.
From manual handling to process optimisation
Conveying systems play an important role in this transformation. By creating controlled, automated material flow, the need for repetitive lifting, carrying or repositioning tasks is reduced. This approach can deliver several advantages:
Reduced injury risk
Automating material movement reduces the physical demands placed on workers, lowering the likelihood of musculoskeletal strain.
Improved consistency
Engineered conveying systems move materials at controlled rates, improving process stability and reducing bottlenecks.
Lower fatigue levels
When repetitive lifting tasks are removed, employees can focus on higher-value activities such as monitoring processes or maintaining equipment.
Better workplace ergonomics
Designing processes around automated flow allows workstations to be configured for optimal posture and accessibility.
For industries managing bulk powders, ingredients or packaged goods, conveying technology can be particularly valuable in reducing manual handling risks associated with frequent material transfers.
How Floveyor products support safer material handling
Bulk bag unloaders are specifically designed to eliminate the most physically demanding stages of powder and bulk material handling — the point where workers are most at risk of musculoskeletal strain. Floveyor’s bag unloading equipment solves the problem of repeated heavy lifting by alleviating the need for operators to lift or move bulk bags.
Bag dump stations (also known as bag tip stations)
- Ergonomic, controlled environment for emptying smaller bags of powder or granular ingredients
- Unload at a comfortable height — no awkward lifting or tipping
- Integrated dust extraction protects air quality
- Reduces daily physical demands for ageing workforces or workers with existing musculoskeletal conditions.
Bulk bag unloaders (also known as bulk bag dischargers)
- Handle large-format FIBC bags — often weighing hundreds of kilograms
- No manual lifting required at any stage
- Bulk bag is positioned by forklift or hoist; the unloader controls material discharge directly into the downstream process
- Eliminates repeated heavy load handling across a shift, reducing cumulative strain on the back, shoulders and joints.
Both products integrate directly with Floveyor’s aero-mechanical conveying systems, creating a continuous, enclosed material flow from unloading through to processing, with minimal manual intervention at any stage. The result is a safer working environment, improved hygiene and a more consistent production process.
For food manufacturers, chemical processors and other industries managing bulk ingredients, investing in the right unloading equipment is one of the most direct ways to address manual handling risk at the source — exactly in line with the hierarchy of controls approach.
Futureproofing industrial workplaces
The pressures facing industrial workplaces are unlikely to ease in the coming years. Labour shortages, rising safety expectations and increasing production demands all place new emphasis on operational efficiency.
At the same time, the workforce will continue to evolve.
Businesses that proactively redesign their material handling processes today will be better positioned to manage these changes. Reducing manual handling not only improves safety outcomes but also helps organisations retain experienced workers, reduce downtime and maintain productivity.
Investing in safer systems is not just a compliance measure. It is a strategic decision that supports long-term workforce sustainability.
Safer work by design
Manual handling risks have long been part of industrial workplaces, but they do not have to remain an unavoidable reality.
By rethinking how materials move through production environments, businesses can significantly reduce physical strain on all workers while improving operational performance.
Engineering smarter material flow is a key step toward creating workplaces where people can work safely and effectively throughout every stage of their careers.
Floveyor’s strategic guide to bulk bag integration explores how process-level changes — from bag storage and conditioning to discharge and conveying — can be coordinated to optimise your entire operation, not just individual handling tasks.
For more information
If you’d like to explore how to reduce manual handling in your facility, contact Floveyor to learn more. We can share case studies on how manufacturing organisations like yours have made a huge difference in their plant efficiency and safety.
Frequently asked questions
A: Ageing affects manufacturing workers by gradually reducing physical capacity while increasing the value of their experience and tacit knowledge. An ageing workforce changes individual performance, safety risk, and workforce composition, so plants need to adapt work design and HR practices.
A: Older workers can be challenged by manual tasks due to reduced strength and endurance. This can include diminishing muscle strength, aerobic capacity, and fine motor skills. Workers who do repetitive lifting, carrying, and fast-paced manual work become fatigued more quickly as they age. Older workers also experience a higher risk of musculoskeletal disorders, including faster muscle fatigue when performing repetitive tasks. They are more likely to experience neck, shoulder, and back problems compared to their younger colleagues, no matter how physically fit they are.
A: Food manufacturers can systematically redesign tasks, workstations, and workflows to fit workers’ ageing bodies. This exercise can be part of continuous improvement activities in the plant environment, which benefit older and younger workers alike. In addition, ergonomic checks should be integrated into new line and equipment design reviews, using design checklists that account for a diverse workforce.
A: Several things can be done to modernise bulk material handling, especially for plants with older workers. To reduce manual lifting you can introduce bulk bag unloading equipment and mechanical aids such as overhead hoists, powered pallet jacks, and conveying systems. For unavoidable manual tasks, limit container weight and enable team lifting only as a secondary control, not the primary solution.
A: Reducing manual handling injuries in manufacturing is achieved when people handle fewer, lighter, and better-positioned loads. Introducing a hierarchy of control, rather than relying on training alone, helps ensure manual handling injuries are reduced by design, not just through practice.
- Remove unnecessary manual tasks such as double-handling or stacking.
- Swap heavy or awkward containers for smaller, lighter, or easier-to-grip alternatives.
- Use conveyors, tugs, hoists, and/or forklifts so people guide loads instead of lifting or carrying them.
- Introduce job rotation, limit exposure time to high‑load tasks, and define safe work procedures and staffing levels.
- Use gloves and footwear as a last line of defence, not a primary control.
A: A food-grade bulk bag discharger supports and lifts the bulk bag (often one tonne) on a frame with an integrated hoist or forklift‑loaded lifting frame, then positions it over a hopper. Next, it connects the bag spout to a sealed spout interface so powder or granules such as sugar, flour, cocoa, milk powder, etc., discharge dust‑free into a hopper, conveyor, or weigh‑bin. Flow‑promotion devices such as bag stretching frames and massage paddles keep product moving and minimise residual material in the bag.
A: Bulk bag dischargers alleviate the heavy, repetitive, and cumbersome tasks related to ingredient handling, so operators mainly supervise and guide instead of lifting, carrying, or cutting bags. This means older workers in food plants experience fewer musculoskeletal injuries and increased workplace safety. The benefits of bulk bag dischargers for older workers include:
- less lifting, bending and cutting
- reduced fatigue and cumulative strain on operators
- safer, cleaner working environments
- better ergonomics.
A: Investing in compact, affordable bulk material handling equipment doesn’t require a massive capital expense. With the OEM partner, small manufacturers can reduce manual labour, improve safety, and boost efficiency, which is especially attractive for plants with an ageing workforce. Look for stainless steel options, high energy efficiency ratings, equipment with easy cleaning capabilities for wet and dry cleaning, and Australian manufacturers who have modular designs that can scale and grow with you.