It’s a fact that companies are losing money every day through staff taking sick leave due to injuries at work many of which could have been avoided by learning some simple lifting techniques.
Manual handling is defined as the transferring, or handling, of a bodily load by hand, including: pushing, pulling, lifting, lowering, carrying or moving. Do it wrong, and you or your staff could suffer a long term injury or disability!
You might think that anybody can pick up a box of files in the office, push a mail trolley, or stack the shelves with new products but so many injuries occur because of lack of good technique.
Why bother? In the UK, more than 36% of all three-day or over injuries reported to Health and Safety Executive are caused by poor manual handling technique.
Musculoskeletal injuries (MSD) from bad handling techniques include sprains of ligaments, strains of muscles or tendons, injuries to the spine, joints, bones or nerves and abdominal hernias. This is really not fun, it’s painful and can have a long term effect on your health so it makes sense to understand the mechanics of lifting and how to avoid the potential dangers.
Children know what to do
Young children instinctively lift correctly by bending their knees and not their back. Next time your toddlers runs over to pick up a large toy, watch how they do it! The Four Minutes manual handling course will take participants back to basics to learn the correct mechanics of lifting.
Lucy, an office working in Cardiff said “Manual Handling doesn’t apply to me, I’m answering the phone all day.” Lucy could not be more wrong! The reality is that office workers regularly move boxfiles, reams of paper, shift their PC around, or open parcels delivered by a courier. There is always a risk of injury when handling anything more than a few Kg’s in weight. Good manual handling techniques are not just for builders or factory workers, they are applicable in most jobs and proper training will help protect you as employer or as an employee.
Managers will learn about legislation such as the Health and Safety At Work Act 1974 and the Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992 and how to manage and reduce risk. Workers will learn how to assess any handling task properly and apply an effective technique to avoid injury.
Our Manual Handling course in Caerphilly lasts between 3 and 4 hours depending on the number of participants and each will receive a certification. Contact us today for details.