New advice on manual handling training
HSE urges employers to think again before investing in off-the-shelf manual handling training
OFF-the-shelf manual handling training should become a thing of the past, according to new advice released by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).
New musculoskeletal disorder (MSD) advice has been issued by HSE to help employers to decide what type of help they need to tackle the MSD risks in their workplace. The web-based advice illustrates different approaches with examples and identifies who may be able to help address their needs.
The web-based advice has been developed with the input and involvement of businesses, trade unions, trade bodies, training providers, professional bodies and safety professionals and consultants.
Launching the web-based advice at its inaugural MSD Summit last month, the HSE’s health and work portfolio manager, Geoff Cox, said: ‘Our research shows that simplistic training involving bending your knees to lift a cardboard box is just a waste of time and money, it just doesn’t make any difference.
‘The overall aim is to avoid and reduce manual handling, and that’s where employers should start if their workforce faces manual handling risks. Don’t start with training, start with re-organizing and redesigning your working practices.
‘If you do need staff training, and there are many residual risks where this is the case, this needs to be customized and professionally delivered. Any such training should be based on observations of current working practices, and should be informed by the views and experience of the workforce.’
Organizations involved in developing the web guide included EEF, Unite the Union, RoSPA, IOSH and BSIF, among many others. Terry Woolmer, head of health and safety policy at EEF, said: ‘The new web-based advice won’t tell you how to resolve your MSD issues but it will help you decide what types of approaches suit your business and where to get the help you need.’
National health and safety advisor for Unite the Union, Susan Murray, said: ‘The key point from the web-based advice is the importance of involving workers in all aspects dealing with manual handling solutions – the people who do the work often come up with the best answers.’
Roy McKee, health and safety consultant at RoSPA, said: ‘The web-based advice recognizes training has a place in the hierarchy of controls for manual handling and also its limitations. It allows the risk profile of the company to dictate the level of competence and extent of help necessary rather than a person’s accreditation or qualifications.
‘Where previously, SME’s might not know where to go for assistance in ergonomic interventions or workplace designs, hopefully the web guide will change this.’
The full web-based advice can be viewed at www.hse.gov.uk.
