The True Cost of
Construction MSDs
According to HSE, construction workers are significantly more likely to suffer a work-related MSD than the national average, with manual handling, repetitive strain and awkward postures remaining the leading causes of occupational ill health on site.
WORKERS AFFECTED
2,000
WORKING DAYS LOST EACH YEAR
557
CRITICAL FOCUS AREAS
Manual Handling Risk Hotspots
Heavy loads, awkward postures and repetitive motion are the primary MSD triggers in construction. Here's where your workers are most at risk.
Key Biomechanical Factors
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Repetitive lifting of bricks, mortar, plasterboard sheets
Handling heavy and large loads
These operators face some of the highest cumulative loading - with every lift compounds the risk.
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Handling heavy or unwieldy materials
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Carrying loads and working over uneven terrain
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Lifting above or away from the body
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Frequent bending and twisting during lifting and carrying, bricks, sacks of cement, wood among others
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Climbing scaffolds or structural elements
Key Biomechanical Factors
-
Prolonged kneeling or crouching to work at floor level, installing tiles or woods
Awkward and Sustained Postures
These staff spend hours locked in low, twisted positions — the conditions where chronic MSDs take root
-
Twisting and reaching
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Working in uneven surfaces
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Prolonged sitting while operating cranes and other related machinery that involves twisting the neck
Key Biomechanical Factors
Repetitive Movements and overhead work
High-volume repetitive tasks with minimal rest cycles are where upper limb disorders and shoulder injuries begin.
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High‑volume repetitive arm, hand, and wrist movements during lifting and moving materials
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Repeated placement, smoothing, painting, or cutting motions
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Cycle‑based tasks that provide little rest time
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Holding large panels above the head
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Conducting electrical work with the arms above the head doing fine-motor movements.
Key Biomechanical Factors
-
Getting on and off machinery
Expose workers to whole-body vibration, uneven terrain and prolonged machine operation — risks accumulate silently.
Site Operations & Workforce Supervision
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Walking and working over uneven surfaces
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Operating tools and machinery that generate vibration
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Working near machinery that generates vibration.
How MOVA Reduces MSD Risk in
Rail Industry
MOVA uses wearable sensors and AI to continuously track manual handling risk across every shift — giving your H&S team objective data, automated HSE reporting, and the evidence needed to intervene before injuries happen.
Objective, continuous risk assessment
Replaces subjective observation with sensor data, tracking fatigue and posture degradation as it happens across a shift.
AI-driven mitigation
suggestions
Our AI interprets risk and industry context, delivering targeted mitigation strategies aligned to the hierarchy of controls and best practice.
Real-environment staff
training
Real-time postural feedback replaces classroom sessions, correcting technique where risk occurs and driving lasting behaviour change.
Enterprise‑grade risk
visibility
One dashboard. Multi-site visibility, risk hot-spots, prioritisation, and
faster compliance at
every level.
Automated HSE-compliant reporting
Automated HSE-aligned reporting — MAC, RAPP, and ART — consistent, auditable, and free from
admin burden.
Built for the Field,
Not Just the Lab
Industrial sites are unforgiving. MOVA is engineered to
survive the grit, dust, and magnetic interference of a live
construction environment.
IP67 Rated
Dust-tight and protected against water jets from any angle.
Magnetically Immune
Precise data even near heavy steel structures and power lines.
12h Shift Battery
Designed to outlast the
longest overtime shifts on site.
Making the Invisible Visible
Captures movement multiple times a second — without cameras
Benefits Across Your Organisation
One platform. Measurable outcomes for every team that touches health and safety
Staff
Upto
77%
reduction in injury risk through early intervention
Better
posture
real-time, on-the-job feedback corrects technique as it happens
Less
fatigue
risk tracked and managed across the full work shift
Health & Safety
75%
less time spent on risk assessment and reporting
Zero
admin
automated reporting frees focus for mitigation, not paperwork
Audit
ready
objective, HSE-compliant data builds stronger compliance cases
Operations
Less
down time
fewer injuries means fewer disruptions to workflows and output
Consistent
flow
Safer execution means smoother, more predictable operations
More
output
productivity gains unlocked when risk is proactively managed
Leadership
Better
performance
lower risk exposure directly improves operational outcomes
Clear
compliance
Auditable data makes regulatory compliance easy to prove
Safety
culture
data-driven approach builds a proactive, credible safety function
Learning & Development
Faster onboarding
real-world, on-the-job training accelerates time to
competence
Consistent standards
data-driven feedback removes variability in how training
lands
Lasting behaviour change
continuous in-task coaching reinforces safe practices beyond the classroom
“Transport for Wales (TFW) have had the pleasure of connecting and working with Spatial Cortex using their wearable MOVA technology to obtain tangible insights into preventing and reducing Manual-handling injuries and Musculo-Skeletal Disorders (MSDs). MOVA gave reliable, consistent, and qualitative data.”
Catherine Green
HSEQ Business Partner (Fleet),
Transport for Wales Rail
