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MSI Training – Musculoskeletal Injury Prevention Training

If your employees lift, carry, push, pull, perform repetitive work, maintain awkward positions, or complete other physically demanding tasks, they need to understand how those activities can contribute to musculoskeletal injuries.

Calgary Safety Consultants provides practical Musculoskeletal Injury Prevention Training for Canadian workers and employers, with flexible delivery options including Online MSI Training, Virtual Instructor-Led MSI Training, and Classroom MSI Training.

Whether you need to train one employee or an entire workforce, we can help you choose a training format that works for your operations, your employees, and your schedule.

MSI training supports hazard recognition and worker participation, but it does not replace assessment of the actual job, higher-order ergonomic controls, competent supervision, workplace-specific instruction or appropriate medical and accommodation processes. A course certificate records completion; it is not proof that a task is safe.

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Serving employers across Calgary, Alberta, British Columbia, Saskatchewan, and Canada.

MSI training

MSI Training Topics

Training options

Choose Your Musculoskeletal Injury Prevention Training Option

Online Musculoskeletal Injury Prevention Training

Complete your Musculoskeletal Injury Prevention Training online at your own pace from virtually anywhere in Canada.

Our online MSI course is ideal for individual workers, new employees, remote workers, smaller organizations, or employers who need training available on demand.

Participants work through structured training modules covering musculoskeletal injury hazards, common risk factors, early signs and symptoms, manual material handling, ergonomics, and practical measures that can reduce exposure.

Online training gives employers a convenient way to provide consistent MSI prevention training without coordinating classroom schedules or employee travel.

Start Online MSI Prevention Training

Virtual Instructor-Led MSI Training

Get the interaction of a classroom without requiring everyone to be in the same location.

Our Virtual MSI Training is delivered live by an instructor using Microsoft Teams or another agreed virtual platform.

Participants can ask questions, discuss workplace situations, and examine the types of lifting, repetitive work, awkward postures, material handling, and ergonomic concerns that affect their own operations.

Virtual MSI training is particularly effective for organizations with employees working from multiple offices, job sites, branches, or communities.

It combines the convenience of remote training with the opportunity to interact directly with an experienced occupational health and safety professional.

Request Virtual MSI Prevention Training

Classroom Musculoskeletal Injury Prevention Training

Bring Musculoskeletal Injury Prevention Training directly to your workplace.

Our Classroom MSI Training provides instructor-led training for groups of employees who benefit from face-to-face discussion, practical examples, and workplace-specific questions.

Classroom training can be particularly valuable when employees regularly perform manual material handling, repetitive tasks, physically demanding work, or activities involving awkward or sustained body positions.

Training can be arranged for workplaces in Calgary, Okotoks, Edmonton, and other Alberta locations, with additional locations available by arrangement.

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Overview

What Is Musculoskeletal Injury Prevention Training?

MSI stands for musculoskeletal injury.

Musculoskeletal injuries affect muscles, tendons, ligaments, joints, nerves, and other tissues that support movement and physical activity.

You may also encounter terms such as musculoskeletal disorder (MSD), work-related musculoskeletal disorder (WMSD), repetitive strain injury (RSI), or ergonomic injury.

MSIs can result from a single physically demanding event, but many develop gradually as workers are repeatedly exposed to physical demands such as force, repetition, awkward posture, sustained positions, manual material handling, or vibration.

Musculoskeletal Injury Prevention Training helps workers recognize these risk factors and understand practical measures that can be used to reduce their exposure.

The objective isn’t simply to teach employees how to lift.

Workers need to understand what makes a task physically demanding, how to recognize changing conditions, and what can be done to reduce the risk before an injury develops.

Who needs it

Who Needs MSI Training in Canada?

MSI hazards can occur in almost every industry.

Workers may benefit from Musculoskeletal Injury Prevention Training when their jobs involve:

  • Lifting or lowering materials.
  • Carrying loads.
  • Pushing or pulling.
  • Repetitive movements.
  • Forceful exertion.
  • Awkward working positions.
  • Reaching or working overhead.
  • Prolonged sitting or standing.
  • Manual material handling.
  • Hand tools or powered equipment.
  • Vibration.
  • Physically demanding work.
  • Computer or workstation-based activities.

MSI training may therefore be appropriate for construction workers, tradespeople, warehouse employees, manufacturing workers, healthcare workers, drivers, maintenance employees, retail workers, equipment operators, office employees, supervisors, and many other occupations.

Occupational health and safety requirements differ between Canada’s federal, provincial, and territorial jurisdictions.

Employers should ensure that their training, hazard assessment, ergonomic, and manual material handling practices address the requirements that apply where their employees are working.

Who it's for

MSI Training for Workers, Supervisors and Employers

Musculoskeletal injury prevention involves more than the worker performing the physical task.

Consider a typical material-handling activity.

Someone selects how materials will be stored.

Someone determines where the materials will be placed.

Someone may select the equipment or tools used to move them.

A supervisor assigns the work.

A worker performs the task.

Someone may determine production rates, schedules, or staffing.

Management decides whether mechanical equipment or other improvements will be purchased.

Each of those decisions can affect the physical demands placed on the worker.

That is why effective MSI prevention requires workers, supervisors, and employers to understand their role in recognizing hazards and improving how work is performed.

A worker shouldn’t simply be expected to compensate for poorly designed work through better lifting technique.

Request Group MSI Prevention Training

Assessment, controls and health information

MSI Training Does Not Replace Ergonomic Assessment or Medical Care

Training helps people recognize risk factors and participate in prevention, but it does not correct a poorly designed job. Employers should assess the actual task with knowledgeable workers, consider force, repetition, posture, duration, pace, recovery time, vibration, temperature, tools, layout, staffing and psychosocial demands, then apply the hierarchy of controls.

Eliminate unnecessary handling where possible. Reduce the load or frequency, change storage height and reach distance, redesign the workstation or workflow, provide suitable mechanical aids, select tools that fit the task and maintain them. Administrative measures, lifting technique and personal protective equipment may still be useful, but they should not be the only response when higher-order controls are reasonably available.

There is no single safe lifting weight for every person and situation. Load size and stability, grip, horizontal distance, height, travel, frequency, duration, environment and worker capability all affect risk. A technical ergonomics assessment may require a qualified ergonomist, occupational hygienist, engineer, occupational health professional or other competent specialist.

Workers should report discomfort or symptoms promptly through the employer’s process and obtain appropriate medical attention when needed. Training is not medical advice and instructors should not diagnose a condition. Personal and medical information should be limited to what the process requires, protected from unnecessary disclosure and handled with appropriate human rights, privacy, workers’ compensation and return-to-work support.

A course certificate records completion of the defined training. It does not prove practical competence, an acceptable task design, legal compliance or control effectiveness. Employers should verify learning through workplace observation and worker feedback, correct identified gaps and reassess when tasks, equipment, staffing, production demands or symptoms change.

General Canadian guidance reviewed 6 November 2026: CCOHS Work-related Musculoskeletal Disorder Risk Factors and CCOHS Manual Materials Handling. Workplace-specific legislation and technical assessment requirements must be verified for the governing jurisdiction and task.

Course content

What Does Our Musculoskeletal Injury Prevention Training Cover?

Depending on the training format and workplace activities, our Musculoskeletal Injury Prevention Training addresses important concepts including:

  • What musculoskeletal injuries are.
  • How musculoskeletal injuries can develop.
  • Common workplace MSI hazards.
  • The relationship between ergonomics and MSI prevention.
  • Force and physical exertion.
  • Repetitive movements.
  • Awkward working positions.
  • Static and sustained postures.
  • Manual material handling.
  • Lifting and lowering.
  • Carrying materials.
  • Pushing and pulling.
  • Workplace and workstation design.
  • Tool and equipment considerations.
  • Vibration and other contributing factors.
  • Recognizing early signs and symptoms.
  • The importance of early reporting.
  • Hazard identification and assessment.
  • Eliminating or reducing unnecessary manual handling.
  • Mechanical lifting and material-handling aids.
  • Workplace design and engineering controls.
  • Administrative controls and work practices.
  • Safe manual handling principles.
  • Worker responsibilities.
  • Supervisor responsibilities.
  • Workplace-specific MSI prevention.

The training emphasizes understanding the conditions creating the exposure, rather than relying exclusively on worker behaviour.

Common Musculoskeletal Injury Risk Factors

Musculoskeletal injuries usually aren’t caused by a single risk factor.

Several physical demands may occur together and increase the overall stress placed on the body.

Force

Force refers to the physical effort required to complete a task.

Workers may exert force while lifting, lowering, carrying, pushing, pulling, gripping, holding, or operating tools and equipment.

As the amount of force increases, so does the physical demand placed on muscles, joints, and other tissues.

Repetition

Repeatedly performing the same or similar movement can increase musculoskeletal stress.

The concern becomes greater when repetitive work is also forceful, performed from an awkward position, or completed with limited opportunity for recovery.

Awkward Postures

Bending, twisting, reaching, kneeling, squatting, working overhead, or performing tasks away from a comfortable body position can increase physical demands.

The amount of time spent in the position and how frequently the worker must assume it are also important.

Static or Sustained Postures

A worker doesn’t need to be moving continuously to experience musculoskeletal stress.

Remaining in the same position for an extended period can fatigue muscles and tissues.

This can affect workers performing physical jobs as well as employees who spend long periods sitting or using computers.

Manual Material Handling

Manual material handling can include lifting, lowering, carrying, pushing, pulling, holding, or moving materials.

The weight of a load is only one consideration.

Its size, shape, stability, location, grip, carrying distance, frequency of handling, and surrounding work environment can all affect the demands placed on the worker.

Vibration

Workers may be exposed to vibration through powered hand tools, machinery, vehicles, and other equipment.

Vibration can contribute to musculoskeletal concerns and may interact with other physical demands.

Multiple Risk Factors

The greatest concern often occurs when several risk factors exist at the same time.

For example, repeatedly lifting an object may involve force.

If the material is stored near floor level, the task may also involve bending.

If the worker needs to turn while lifting, twisting is added.

If the activity continues throughout the shift, repetition and duration also become factors.

Effective MSI prevention looks at the complete task rather than considering each movement in isolation.

Common questions

Frequently Asked Questions About MSI Training

Clear answers about MSI training, ergonomic risk factors, lifting, certificates, early reporting and workplace assessment.

What does MSI stand for?

MSI stands for musculoskeletal injury. Musculoskeletal injuries affect muscles, tendons, ligaments, joints, nerves and related tissues.

What is the difference between MSI and MSD?

MSI means musculoskeletal injury, while MSD means musculoskeletal disorder. You may also see the term WMSD, meaning work-related musculoskeletal disorder. Different Canadian jurisdictions and safety organizations may use different terminology when discussing similar workplace ergonomic and musculoskeletal hazards.

Who should take MSI training?

Workers who perform lifting, carrying, pushing, pulling, repetitive work, physically demanding activities, awkward postures or other tasks that may expose them to musculoskeletal injury hazards can benefit from MSI training.

Is MSI training just lifting training?

No. Lifting is only one source of musculoskeletal injury risk. MSI prevention also considers repetition, force, awkward positions, sustained postures, pushing, pulling, workstation design, equipment design, vibration and how work is organized.

Is there one safe lifting weight for every worker?

No. Risk depends on the load, grip, location, frequency, duration, travel, environment, task design and the worker’s capability. Employers should assess the complete task, reduce or eliminate manual handling where possible and obtain a competent ergonomics assessment when the risk or uncertainty warrants it.

Can office workers experience musculoskeletal injuries?

Yes. Prolonged sitting, repetitive keyboard and mouse use, poor workstation positioning, awkward reaching and sustained postures can contribute to musculoskeletal problems.

Can MSI training be completed online?

Yes. Online MSI Training provides workers with a convenient way to complete foundational musculoskeletal injury prevention training from an internet-connected computer or compatible device.

Will I receive a certificate after completing MSI training?

Yes. Participants who successfully complete the online course requirements receive a Certificate of Completion. It documents the defined training and assessment; it does not prove site-specific competence, an acceptable ergonomic design, legal compliance or control effectiveness.

Is MSI training required everywhere in Canada?

Occupational health and safety requirements aren’t identical across Canada. Requirements related to ergonomics, manual material handling, hazard assessment and worker training vary between federal, provincial and territorial jurisdictions. Employers should confirm the requirements that apply to their workplace.

Does MSI training replace a workplace hazard assessment?

No. Training helps workers understand MSI hazards and prevention principles, but employers still need to identify and assess the hazards associated with their actual workplace and implement appropriate controls.

What are the most common MSI risk factors?

Common factors include forceful exertion, repetitive movement and pace, awkward or sustained postures, manual material handling, limited recovery time, vibration, temperature, workplace and equipment design, high demands, low job control, poor communication and limited support. Risk factors often interact and should be assessed together.

Why is early reporting important?

Early reporting allows the employer to review the task, provide interim controls and determine whether competent ergonomic or medical support is needed before the problem becomes more serious. Workers should use the workplace reporting process and seek appropriate medical attention when needed. Personal and medical information should be handled confidentially and only by people who need it for their role.

Do supervisors need MSI training?

Supervisors can benefit significantly from MSI training because they assign work, observe working conditions, respond to worker concerns and help ensure workplace controls are followed.

Can MSI training be provided to groups?

Yes. MSI Training can be provided for groups through online, virtual instructor-led or classroom delivery. For online group enrolment, buy your enrolments online, then complete our Group Training Student Information form so we can set up an individual account for each worker. For virtual or classroom training, contact Calgary Safety Consultants to discuss training for your organization.

Book your training

Choose the MSI Prevention Training That Works for Your Workplace

Calgary Safety Consultants can help employers set up MSI Prevention Training for individual workers, new hires, supervisors, contractors, seasonal employees, and multi-location teams. Online MSI Prevention Training is a practical option for most employers because workers can complete the course at their own pace without waiting for a classroom session or removing entire crews from operations. The training helps workers recognize factors that can contribute to musculoskeletal injuries, including repetitive movements, awkward postures, forceful exertion, lifting, pushing, pulling, and prolonged static positions. It also provides practical guidance on reducing exposure and using safer work practices. For organizations that need additional support, Calgary Safety Consultants can also provide virtual instructor-led MSI Prevention Training or classroom MSI Prevention Training. Contact us to discuss worker onboarding, refresher training, supervisor training, or group training options for your workplace.

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Training a team?

Group enrolment for online courses

Enrol your crew, supervisors or safety committee in any of our online courses. Buy your enrolments online, then complete our Group Training Student Information form so we can set up an individual account for each worker. Each worker completes the training online and receives a certificate of completion. Training 10 or more workers on the same course? A 10% group discount is applied automatically at checkout. For instructor-led training or a custom group arrangement, use the form below to request a group quote.

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