5 Reasons Why You Need Manual Handling Training

Every Industry and every job in every industry requires some form of manual handling. In the course of an average day employees lift, push, pull or otherwise move something that requires their working without the aid of any type of machine. Just thinking about the thousands of times things are manually handled in the course of the day is enough to make your muscles ache.

So, just think how one little careless move could result in injury to your back, your wrists, arms and even feet. If that isn’t enough reason to explain why you and your employees need manual handling training, here are 5 more.

1. 35% of compensable workplace injuries are the result of manual handing. Some of these injuries take months to recover from and some people may never recover from a serious injury. This not only costs your company money, but takes a toll on the financial life of the injured worker’s family. If manual handling training can reduce the percentage of these injuries only by half, think of the amount of money your company will save and the number of worker’s families that will benefit.

2. When workers are required to take manual handling training, they become more aware of the risk of injury due to their own carelessness and this encourages them to use more caution to protect themselves from serious injury. When employees use safer techniques for lifting and manually moving loads they reduce their risk of injury and if an injury does occur it is more likely to be less serious.

3. When workers and managers or employers take manual handling training together and discuss the training afterward there is likely to be more open communication and brainstorming that can result in better safety procedures being implemented and used. If employees feel part of the solution to the problem, they are more likely to follow the procedures that are put into place.

4. Manual handling training makes workers aware that while it is the business that is responsible for seeing that the workplace is safe, the workers need to do their part by following those safety procedures and using those devices that are available to help keep them safe. This training helps them to understand that they need to take responsibility for their own safety as well.

5. Manual handling training gives workers and management tips on how to do a number of manual operations more safely thus reducing the risk of injury. In addition, these tips can help your company stay in compliance with OHS laws and as an added benefit, the tips you all learn can be used outside the workplace to help you reduce injury to yourself when working around your home.

There is always going to be some manual labor involved with every job but knowing how to safely lift and move loads will help to reduce the risk of injury for everyone in the workplace and will help increase work productivity.