With health & safety, workplace regulations and employer liability all very much to the fore these days, a course in manual handling for management and employees is a sensible step to take. Workplace injuries from manual handling are frequent and can lead to painful and long term injury and possible disability and can also affect the company in terms of productivity, workplace relations and keeping your organisations reputation intact. A course in manual handling, delivered usually over ½ or a full day, on site or off site, will provide your organisation with the training needed to mitigate against potentially costly injuries and also provide in-house expertise on this subject.
What are Manual Handling Courses?
There is a common misconception that injuries as a result of mishandling only occur in manual labour jobs or in roles where heavy lifting is part of the work. The reality is that injuries related to manual handling can occur in almost every work environment. Incorrect manual handling in something as routine as moving a printer or another piece of IT equipment could result in an injury that is easily avoided with the correct training. A manual handling course takes place either off site or in your own office and consists of practical steps that you can take in order to avoid injury. For workers it provides reassurance in terms of the employers concern for their wellbeing and for employers, it fulfills important statutory and legal requirements in addition to an important workplace skill set. In Ireland this is governed by the Safety, Health & Welfare at Work general regulations 2007. This categorises manual handling as: ‘transporting or supporting of any load by one or more employees and includes lifting, putting down, pushing, pulling, carrying or moving a load, which by reason of its characteristics or unfavourable ergonomic conditions, involves risk, particularly from back injury, to employees.’
Although training in this area is very important in terms of raising awareness and reducing risk, it should not be assumed by either employers or employees that this training alone will suffice in terms of ensuring safe manual handling. It needs to be supplemented with monitoring and review procedures
What the Course Covers
- What the basic of safely handling goods are and what are the risks
- Understand the reasons that safety in this field is so important
- Learn the mechanics of injuries related to manual handling
- An understanding of how manual handling risk assessments contribute to overall health and safety
- Know how to apply safe handling principles
- Different lifting methods and the most common mistakes
- Learning how to manage loads or break them down as necessary
- Modifying company workstations to reduce unnecessary carrying distances
- What can be done to improve the workplace environment in terms of lighting, surfaces, and temperatures, all of which can contribute to accidents
What You Will Learn
A course in this field will not only help develop an increased awareness of the dangers surrounding manual handling, it will also allow employees to develop a broader understanding of health and safety and the reasons why time and productivity is lost due to injuries sustained in the workplace. Training in this area makes workers aware that while the employer has statutory responsibilities in terms of providing a safe workplace, they also need to do their part in mitigating against injuries that can be avoided.
Why it Delivers
With certifications often available to successful students a course in manual handling will help you put in place the steps you need to implement a successful policy in the office. It may also help successfully inform other workplace improvements that can have a positive impact on health and safety. Search CorporateTraining.ie for training courses in this area across Ireland.
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