Aches and pains have become part of Roofer Ben Clisby’s day to day.
“As you get older things hurt more and it takes a lot longer to recover, I definitely could have been a lot smarter when I was younger,” he told 1News.
Working for his family company ProTech Roofing for more than 23 years, his body has borne the brunt of his trade.
“I’ve had a lot of cuts, stitches, I tore a cartilage in my knee and I was only thirty,” Clisby said.
Construction-related injuries are taking a toll on the industry, with projects going unfinished as workers take time off to recover.
Clisby was forced off the tools for three weeks to recover from surgery for what is known in the industry as ‘roofers knee’.
He said it put the business under pressure.
“If you lose key people to your business you’re not gonna get the production you need.”
Soft tissue injury claims in the construction sector have been on the rise over the past five years.
ACC accepted 17,871 soft tissue injury claims in 2020, estimated to have resulted in 578,562 days off work.
It is estimated to have halted the building of 338 two-bedroom houses, left 1 million square meters of roofing unlaid, and 2 million square meters of scaffolding not erected.
ACC Injury Prevention Lead James Whitaker said 90% of these injuries are preventable.
“It can be really sad and stressful for people especially if they get seriously injured,” he said.
It has sparked ACC to fund the ‘Work Should Not Hurt’ programme led by Construction Health and Safety New Zealand (CHASNZ).
The programme offers tips and tricks driven by ergonomics of trades from roofing, to plumbing.
“Things like getting your work up off the ground, using tables, reducing the amount of overhead work and of course finding better ways to lift and move things,” CHASNZ programme manager and ergonomist Chris Polaczuk said.
He said the sector was facing mounting pressure to get jobs done, creating the "perfect storm" for on-site injuries.
"The lack of materials, all of the time frames have been squashed, the lack of actually having tradespeople."
He hopes the ‘Work Should Not Work’ programme will help shift the ‘she’ll be right’ attitude as a record number of apprentices enter the industry.
“We’ve gotta look after them, the new tradies coming on are invaluable.”
He said there needed to be a long-term commitment to prevent the wear and tear many workers end up with at the end of their careers.
“We’ve got to house our communities all around New Zealand so work in this residential sector is crucial.”
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