Manual handling techniques are easy to remember and can protect you from injury due to incorrect lifting and workplace actions.
Manual handling refers to the movement or support of an item or objects a person handles by hand or by using bodily force. This applies to lifting, carrying, pulling, pushing, putting down and handling. There are regulations in place to help reduce the risk of accidents and injuries at work. While the actual risk itself cannot be eliminated, training can help reduce the likelihood of injury caused by the practice of poor manual handling techniques. Safer handling is not limited to workers on the factory floor. Injuries can also be sustained by individuals working in offices lifting small objects, especially if they are reaching and twisting. In short, manual handling affects every worker and every employer in some way. The Health and Safety Executive have found that poor manual handling techniques have attributed to more than 25% of all reported accidents.
In some occupations, these figure is increased to over 50%. Over one-third of injuries that resulted in over three days off work were a result of poor manual handling technique. Safer handling-related injuries and illnesses cost UK businesses approximately 12 million lost working days a year, which is estimated by the HSE to cost businesses around about £5.7 billion a year. Reducing the number of manual handling injuries is not just about saving businesses money, there are also thousands of pounds lost to individuals in lost wages and in a reduction in their ability to carry out their chosen career, and it can have even more serious long-term implications. The techniques that you will learn on this course are easy and simple to remember. But in order for them to be effective, you must remember to use them every time you are involved in moving or handling an object.
Hoists, Cranes and Lifts can be found in any workplace, In the workplace, there are lots of other machines that could potentially cause harm. These can be small mobile hoists to tower cranes on a building site or a lift in an office. Other examples covered in this section include: • Ropes and pulleys • […]
Manual Handling regulations are set out in The Health and Safety at Work Act, the Management of Health and Safety at Work regulations and under Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992, which was amended in 2002. The Health and Safety at Work Act states that every employer shall, as far as is reasonably practicable, ensure the […]
We need to make sure we always move correctly. We want to avoid hurting not only ourselves but also others. Keep close, bend down, back straight, chin up and lift the load. Make sure the load is secure at all times. Look at easier ways of moving a load, maybe breaking it down into smaller […]
Motorised Lifting Aids are products in the workplace like forklifts and other motorised lifting aids that are designed to move loads safely. It may seem easy to use them yourself if the usual operator is unavailable. There are special rules, and in some cases, like forklift trucks, you must have a current licence. You may […]