For the past 10 years your Union has been lobbying government to legalize stilts in the residential workplace. Numerous discussions have occurred with several different Ministers of Labour, Ministry of Labour officials, technical advisors and bureaucrats. A backlash from other trades in the construction industry had to be overcome with confidence that stilts were for drywall finishers and insulation installers in the residential sector.
A proposal was introduced to government in March 2005 to initiate a Pilot Project for,” Use of Stilts in the Residential Construction Sector.” The pertinent discussion points and tasks to fulfill in that proposal were not enough to meet government approval. Government’s concern, and rightfully so, was to be sure stilts are safe and do not create a risk for workers in the area of muscular demands
and worker proficiency. Safety and proficiency had yet to be studied and proven anywhere in North America. This was a requirement that government was demanding before any sort of consideration
to a Pilot Project was going to occur.
How were we going to provide documentation that resulted from a study of stilts, when such work has not been performed in North America?
Dr. Pan from the University of Pennsylvania had studied injury statistics but nowhere had anyone examined walking, standing, postural patterns or analyzed head, neck, arm extension or measurement of loads on joints while wearing stilts. Nowhere had anyone analyzed the strains and balance issues in comparing the walking on stilts versus working on a bench by drywall finishers. Ministry of Labour officials needed to be comfortable that implementing a regulatory change to legalize stilts has gone through a “due diligence” procedure.
During discussions with MOL and the Construction Safety Association of Ontario (CSAO) officials, the suggestion was made to utilize the University of Waterloo. The U. of W. has a very good reputation for research and assisting the WSIB on numerous studies related to ergonomics. Dr. Stephen Prentice, Ph.D. CK, Associate Professor, Department of Kinesiology was contacted. The stilts committee consisting of IUPAT, CSAO, Carpenters Union, Ministry of Labour officials, and employers from ISCA met Dr. Prentice and consulted with him the requirements of the committee and the Ministry - Dr. Prentice began the research.
Participants included 5 novices that had never been on stilts and 5 Local 1891 members with stilt experience. The project objectives were to study and document joint/ muscle demands and balance challenges on level ground with stilts and working from a bench using novice and expert workers. Participants extended their heads and arms from a bench and from stilts at fixed heights. Examination of specific joints of each task were observed and documented. The centre of mass and body movements were tracked using an OPTOTRAK System to monitor body sway and loads.
During the walking study, joint angles, moments of force and mechanical power were determined. Movement of body segments was tracked by walking on a force plate to display joint kinetic information. Ankle, knee, hip, joints were evaluated at different velocities and heights during swing phases. Measurement included walking velocity, rhythm, stride length, and limb support and stance/swing ratios.
Observations concluded stilts incurred increases in joint force at the hip and knee which may be large kinetic activity however in comparison outside of the experimental study it was lower than that observed during running. Upon testing of postural demands of different aspects of the bench and stilt conditions the exposure during stilt tasks appeared acceptable, however some questions arise to the safety during bench applications.
An assessment was performed of lower limb joint demands of bench use, in conjunction with the muscles, as individuals stepped on and off a bench, then were required to work overhead with an increased height. There was considerable extension at all joints of the ankle, knee and hips that were higher raising more concern than walking on stilts. Peak loads were identified and remained elevated for much of the task. The duration of load demands on the lower limb joints were not experienced during walking and wearing stilts.
There was a clear and concise conclusion to the study by Dr. Prentice that demonstrated experienced workers were much more proficient on stilts than the novice group. The technical differences between walking with or without stilts may demonstrate substantial variances to a kinesiology group, yet in layman terms and identifying if there is a compromise to a worker’s health, the differences are extremely minimal. The most substantial conclusion and crucial factor to the study is the difference between stepping on, off, and moving the bench versus wearing stilts. There were substantial differences of load variances from the bench experiment than that of stilts.
In moving forward to the Pilot Project, the next hurdle was presenting Dr. Prentice’s findings at the Provincial Labour/Management Committee of the CSAO. The Provincial Committee is comprised of representatives from labour, management, WSIB, Ministry of Labour and the CSAO. The CSAO Labour-Management committee review and advise on construction safety activity in the Province. The Provincial committee endorsed the “Pilot Project” upon having it presented almost 3 years ago. Recently, on September 3rd following the Dr. Prentice presentation the Pilot Program was endorsed once again.
Since the September 3rd meeting, DC 46 Representative, Greg Smith and myself have approached the Finishing Trades Institute in Hanover, Maryland to develop curriculum to train for proficiency on stilts. With the assistance of FTI Director, Dan Penski, the curriculum is being developed. Once developed, the committee will review the next procedure which will include cooperation from the Minister of Labour to take the actions required to lift the prohibition on stilts for the purpose of the study. It is planned to designate a residential site to test, monitor, evaluate, and regulate stilts for the study. This does not mean they can be worn off this site in a legal fashion. Only the designated experimental site will be legal.
The membership of Local 1891 has been patient and waiting for stilts to be legal. Once again I ask you to continue your patience. There have been many “bumps in the road” getting this far. Together with your continued support and the diligent members of the committee, I am confident we will get the Pilot Project and soon after a regulatory amendment to permit stilts in the residential sector for our drywall finishers.
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