Safer Manual Handling At Work

By Author: Rachel Hutchinson
Total Articles: 6
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Musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) are the main cause of occupational injury in Great Britain, affecting 1 million people every year and costing society £5.7 billion. MSDs are aches, pains and problems associated with the muscles, joints and tendons, and are often caused by poor manual handling practice. Manual handling is defined as transporting or supporting a load through hand or bodily force, and although it is easy to only associate manual handling in the workplace with physical labour jobs, the reality is almost every position involves some aspect of manual handling.

Consider you own a restaurant; staff may be required to carry plates of food, transport kitchen equipment (stacks of pans and plates can be extremely heavy), or move tables and chairs. The retail industry contains manual handling in the workplace through the movement of stock and putting out items, and even the seemingly less strenuous office job often involves carrying documents, moving laptops, PCs or other technological equipment or even lifting the kettle to make a cup of tea. All of these are manual handling tasks which have the potential to one ...
... day cause an MSD.

Employers find themselves losing millions of pounds from sick days, hiring extra staff and compensation cases as a result of MSDs caused by poor manual handling at work every year, when staff find themselves suffering deliberating short or long-term health problems. Manual handling courses are an easy way to avoid these serious consequences, as well as helping you to meet health and safety legislation.

Manual handling at work is covered in legislation in the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and the management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999. The official Governments Health and Safety Executive website states that health and safety information and training should be supplemented as necessary with more specific information and training on manual handling injury risks and prevention as part of the risk reduction policies, and it is the employers duty to ensure this manual handling in the workplace training is carried out. Manual handling courses are extremely effective at reducing the chance of an accident caused by manual handling in the workplace.

Modern manual handling courses are cost-effective, time-effective, easy to arrange and monitor and even enjoyable. Although you may feel that you and your staff already understand the basic principles of manual handling such as lifting from the knees, there are likely to be many factors which are not often considered when lifting or supporting weights. Manual handling courses will give a basic understanding of the back, and explain the importance of planning, and how to plan, a clear route before any item is transported.

Training courses can be conducted through CD-ROMs or online at any time during the working day or at home, and they can even be completed in sections, with progress saved and available to be monitored. These modern ways to understand manual handling in the workplace offer an easy way for employers to promote safer manual handling in the workplace and meet health and safety legislation effectively.