Manual Handling Training

Manual handling is a term used to describe the movement of objects by personnel, such as boxes, large work materials etc.

Without adequate manual handling training, there is a greatly increased risk of injury; which can result in lost work time, and the potential of compensation claims against companies for insufficient manual handling training provided by employers.

Manual handling injuries typically include:

Injuries due to lifting, carrying, pushing or pulling loads
Strains
Sprains
Trapped fingers
Cuts from sharp objects

Manual handling relates to the distance you are carrying objects from your body, where you are picking it up from or putting it down (picking it up from the floor, putting it on a shelf above shoulder level) and any twisting, bending stretching or other awkward posture you may adopt while undertaking a manual handling task.

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In 2013/14 an estimated 909,000 working days were lost due to manual handling injuries. On average, 6.6 days were lost for each manual handling injury.

Manual handling caused nearly a quarter of reported injuries (24%). 8% of major/specified and more than a quarter of over 7-day injuries to employees involved manual handling (1,431 major /specified; 16,923 over-seven-day).

There were no fatal injuries (RIDDOR). Over 7-day manual handling injuries accounted for more than nine in ten of the total (18 354) (RIDDOR);

The latest 3 years averaged estimates from the Labour Force Survey (LFS) showed an estimated 54,000 reportable manual handling injuries resulted in more than three days’ absence from work – this was a rate of 190 per 100,000 workers (LFS).

It’s not just manual working staff that are at risk. Many office-based staff carry things from time to time. This can include the movement of objects in the office environment, such as:

Archive boxes
Water cooler bottles
Delivery boxes
Electronic equipment

Regulations require employers to:

• AVOID the need for hazardous manual handling so far as is reasonably practicable
• ASSESS the risk or injury from hazardous manual handling that can’t be avoided
• REDUCE the risk of injury from hazardous manual handling, so far as is reasonably practical

Employees have a duty too. They should:

Follow appropriate systems of work laid down for their safety on manual handling
Make proper use of equipment provided for their safety
Cooperate with their employer on health and safety matters
Inform the employer if they identify hazardous manual handling activities
Take care to ensure that their manual handling activities do not put others at risk

Assessing and reducing the risk of injury from manual handling:

The assessment is the employer’s responsibility. You should be able to do most assessments in-house after manual handling risk assessment training. You, your employees and safety representatives know your business better than anyone. Most situations will require just a few minutes observation to identify ways to make the manual handling activity easier and less risky.

Industrial Training Services have been delivering manual handling training since 1989, and have certificated hundreds, perhaps thousands of personnel during this time. Manual handling training certificates enhance individuals’ qualifications and job prospects. All of our training is delivered by qualified manual handling instructors.

A manual handling training course with Industrial Training Services covers the following legislation:

Health and Safety at Work Act 1974
The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999
The Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992

Our Safety Training Courses include...