- Health & Safety Training
Manual Handling
If you have any questions regarding these courses, our services, feel free to get in touch.
What Is Manual Handling Training?
As the name suggests, manual handling training is a course that teaches your employees how to lift, handle and move objects in a safe and responsible way. It’s a legally-required Health and Safety course that helps delegates to understand the importance of good manual handling, the risks of poor handling techniques and how to undergo a manual handling risk assessment.
Manual handling training aims to reduce the risk of injury and ensure the health, safety and wellbeing of employees in the workplace.
Who Is Manual Handling Training For?
Manual handling training is aimed at employees of all levels in any organisation or sector who may be required to manually handle items. This may include lifting, lowering, pushing, pulling, carrying, manoeuvering, steadying or transporting items by hand or by bodily force.
Needless to say, manual handling training is directly suited for physically-demanding industries such as construction, removals and agriculture. However, it’s also catered to office and retail workers who may need to deal with heavy deliveries or move furniture/objects.
Why Do You Need Manual Handling Training?
Manual handling training is a legal requirement for any organisation whose staff are required to do any lifting, lowering, pulling or pushing that carries a level of risk. The Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992 require employers to ensure that all employees are trained and competent in manual handling.
However, manual handling training does more than just keep your business on the right side of the law. Over a third of all work-related injuries are due to poor manual handling, with back injuries being the biggest cause of staff absence in the UK. Subsequently, manual handling training helps to prevent such injuries while improving your business’ performance.
What Does Manual Handling Training Cover?
Our manual handling training course lasts 2 hours and 30 minutes. It involves both classroom-based learning and practical elements with an assessment at the end of the course. This combined approach maximises the effectiveness of the course while enabling delegates to comfortably implement their new-found knowledge on their own.
The content of the course includes:
- Manual handling risk factors and how injuries can occur.
- The spine and WRULDs (work-related neck and upper limb disorders).
- What are WRULDS?
- How to carry out safe manual handling, including good handling technique.
- Appropriate systems of work for the individual's tasks and environment.
- Basics of manual handling risk assessment.
- Use of mechanical aids.
- Tailored elements to demonstrate and understand the specific risks for your premises.
- Practical work to allow the trainer to identify correct trainee awareness.
- Manual handling quiz.
What Are the Benefits of Manual handling Training?
- Improves Staff Wellbeing -- Manual handling training avoids the risk of painful and physically limiting injuries to your staff, ensuring their health, safety and wellbeing. As an employer, this gives you peace of mind.
- Boosts Productivity -- Manual handling training reduces the risk of work-related injuries, which means less staff absences which, in turn, means improved productivity and output for your business.
- Effective -- Your delegates don’t just learn from behind a computer screen. Our manual handling training course combines practical activities with classroom-based learning, delivered by one of our enthusiastic, experienced and fully-qualified trainers, ensuring maximum impact.
- Efficient -- Manual handling training doesn’t require you to sacrifice too much of your precious time. We offer a high-impact yet time-effective course that takes just 2 hours and 30 minutes.
- Compliant -- Investing in manual handling training ensures your business is compliant with Health and Safety laws and regulations. It also protects you from the cost of potential litigation.
- Fun, Team-Building Activity -- While we take the course seriously, manual handling training can provide a welcome shake-up to the daily work schedule in the form of a fun, enjoyable and team-bonding activity.
Why Choose SMSE?
If you’re looking for manual handling training that’s engaging, enjoyable yet affordable, look no further than SMSE.
As one of the longest-established Health and Safety consultants and training providers in the North of England, we’ve been providing manual handling training since the Manual Handling Operations Regulations came into effect, so it’s safe to say that we know a thing or two about the subject!
Our friendly and experienced trainers are all members of the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH), and have developed a reputation for delivering highly effective and educational courses in an engaging and enthusiastic fashion. What’s more, you don’t have to move a muscle; our trainers come to you and deliver the course in person at your premises.
We’re based in Tadcaster, North Yorkshire, and provide manual handling training in the Leeds, York, Bradford, Harrogate and Hull areas, as well as across Yorkshire and the UK.
Click here to book a manual handling training course and see the availability and location of our upcoming courses. If you have any questions or you’d like to know more about manual handling, get in touch with us on 0845 224 0028 or at [email protected].
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Manual handling Course Contents:
- Manual handling risk factors and how injuries can occur; basic information about the anatomy of the spine and muscular system and how injuries occur.
- the key risk factors for manual handling injuries relating to the load, task, environment and capability and how those factors present in the particular industry and workplace;
- how to avoid manual handling and reduce risk factors
- how to carry out safe manual handling, including good handling technique;
- factors relating to individual capability should include the capability to adopt posture
- required for safe lifting, eg bending the knees; appropriate systems of work for the individual’s task and environment;
- basic principles of safe moving and handling and how those can be applied in that particular industry and workplace, taking into account local factors such as specific tasks and workplace and wearing of PPE etc (this should enable delegates to deal with unfamiliar operations through basic understanding of the principles of avoidance and safe lifting techniques);
- demonstration and practice of lifting and handling techniques such as planning the lift, feet position for stability/balance, posture, keeping load close to the body, moving feet instead of twisting the trunk demonstration and practice in safe use of lifting equipment if applicable;
- practical work to allow the trainer to identify and remedy any unsafe practice demonstrated by trainees
- what the company procedure for reporting injuries is and what action will be taken if a member of staff is injured.
- use of mechanical aids; and
- practical work to allow the trainer to identify and put right anything the trainee is not doing safely.
Key learning points
By the end of the programme attendees will have:
- knowledge of the legal requirements of the Health and safety at Work Act, Manual Handling Operations Regulations, as they apply in relation to moving and handling activities
- knowledge of the definition of manual handling and responsibilities of managers/supervisors
- understanding of the legal background and importance of carrying out a risk assessment for manual handling activities
- understanding of the first principles of manual handling
- been introduced to the four areas of ergonomic/manual handling assessment
- knowledge of weight guidelines
- understanding of the basic structure of the spine and injuries that can occur due to manual handling activities
- understanding of the principles of safe moving and handling
- demonstration of correct lifting techniques in relation to specific loads
Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992 – What the law says
The relevant legislation to manual handling training is the Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992 (as amended). With regards to training, the guidance to the Regulations states:
“Section 2 of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and regulations 10 and 13 of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 require employers to provide their employees with health and safety information and training. This should be supplemented as necessary with more specific information and training on manual handling injury risks and prevention, as part of the steps to reduce risk required by regulation 4(1)(b)(ii) of the Regulations.
Where can I attend a course?
We are happy to provide you with bespoke in-house courses to suit your specific training needs. We will be happy to discuss these with you, or if you require help with an assessment of risk, please call or ask for more information by contacting us. Safety Management Services Europe delivers manual handling training courses across Yorkshire, Humberside and the North East.
Call us now for a chat about your manual handling training requirements on 0845 224 0028 or fill in our contact form.
