Manual Handling

An Introduction to Manual Handling: It doesn’t matter whether the activity takes place at work or at home, such as loading the dishwasher or mowing the lawn, all these count as manual handling and can cause short- and long-term harm if not approached in the right way and carried out correctly. Principally all staff should be made aware of how to lift heavy objects during their employee induction on day one of their employment. Furthermore, adequate training and instruction should additionally be given if a person’s day-today work activity involves lifting heavier items. Everyone from the delivery driver, warehouse man / woman to the office handy person, to personnel in the post room could be affected. A staggering 10% of all reported workplace injuries in the UK relate to manual handling of one kind or another. Furthermore, over a third of all reported injuries resulting in three days off work relate back to manual handling activities.

Building on from these surprisingly high statistics, over 12 million working days are lost every year to musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs). It is a fair to equate that manual handling related injuries cost the UK economy hundreds of millions of pounds every single year. This, in a nutshell, is why both the HSE and legislators take the whole area of manual handling very seriously. As an employer, to meet your manual handling responsibilities, there are two sets of regulations you need to comply with: The Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992 (as amended 2002) and the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999. As an employer, it’s your responsibility to ensure the safety of your employees, and this includes making sure manual handling is managed safely – by avoiding, assessing and reducing any risks, and providing appropriate training and equipment.

In 2016/17, manual handling injuries to employees accounted for almost one quarter (22%) of all workplace accidents. If done inappropriately, manual handling can cause two types of injuries:
Musculoskeletal: if employees continually use an unsafe technique, they could gradually pick up musculoskeletal problems. These can be split into three categories: neck and upper limb disorders; lower limb disorders; and back pain and/or injuries.
Acute trauma: sudden accidents – like dropping an item or slipping while pushing an object, for example, can cause cuts, bruises, fractures or sprains, to name just a few. If an employee sustains an injury because you’ve not upheld your end of the bargain, you could find yourself facing a manual handling compensation claim – which could result in an unfavourable pay out. Not to mention the cost of having to cover their shift in their absence.

As an employee, you are also responsible for your own safety and it is recognised that some manual handling maybe required within your daily duties. It is your responsibility to ensure you do not place yourself or staff at risk while carrying out any manual handling procedures. In very general terms (although please note there are a high number of exceptions to the rules and everything is subject to a proper risk assessment), the rules are that no man should attempt to lift more than 25kg and a woman’s maximum limit is 16kg. As is the case with most risk-based health and safety legislation, the onus is on the employer or responsible person to ensure that no employee ever lifts more than the law believes they can. This can be done in a variety of ways and discussed within the course. This is a half day training module is aimed at Commercial LGV (Large Goods Vehicles) and PCV (Passenger Carrying Vehicle) drivers CPC (Driver Certificate of Professional Competence) qualification to acquire or update your DQC (driver qualification card). However, it is also appropriate for personnel whose duties include manual lifting within their workplace environment.

  • The course is designed to enhance and even challenge your current understanding in an educational and interesting way with either, presentation, active workshops, case studies with discussions or a quiz.
  • This module explores the rules and regulations relating to Manual Handling in the workplace with safe practice techniques to reduce injury.
  • This course has been approved and managed by the Master Driver CPC Consortium on behalf of the Driving Standards Agency (DSA) and the Joint Approvals Unit for Periodic Training (JAUPT).
  • The course is taught by qualified and approved instructors with theoretical and practical vocational experience in the field of human anatomy.
  • The Government has stated that it has no plans to repeal the Driver CPC legislation following the Brexit vote, so drivers will still need to be continuing with their training and cannot wait until the card has run out.
  • This course is also appropriate for all workers within the duration of their job is required to lift or move a load that may be either an animate or inanimate object. Have the knowledge to identify and resolve problematic manual handling situations to prevent injury to self or colleagues.

The following modules are included within this course:

  • An Introduction to Manual Handling: Regulations and responsibilities
  • An Introduction to the Spine and Human Movement: The spine and human anatomy is at the centre of all manual handling activities (Kinesiology). In this session you’ll look at how the spine works, its capabilities, limitations and the importance of good posture.
  • Manual Handling Capabilities / Risk Assessment: During this session you will look at the importance of an individual’s capability of manual handling activities, and the potential personal issues that might affect our ability to safely carry out the task.
  • Manual Handling Techniques: When it comes to manual handling, there is no real one size fits all approach to technique. There are, however, best practice techniques that are safe, and can be transferred and adapted to work with multiple manual handling activities. Mechanical assistant aids will be discussed with a view to their benefits and limitations.
  • Pushing and Pulling: Such activities present their very own set of manual handling risks. In this session you will look at the risks associated with the activity, what the relevant safety considerations are and some risk reducing pushing and pulling techniques.

Group Bookings:

This course is normally combined with the Mental Health module to complete the full 7 hours qualifying training day prerequisite. It is possible to tailor this course to fit your training requirements with various changes within the subject area if you wish to home in on an aspect that has raised concerns within your workplace environment.

Perhaps, a different modular combination for the group bookings to focus on another key area within your company. Please contact the admin office to discuss your needs with group discounts and further discounts if a CPC certificate upload is replaced with a training company certification.

Professional Drivers

Please note if you passed your ordinary driving test after 1st January 1997 and you took your LGV driving test after 9th September 2008, you may need to take Initial Driver CPC training instead. Please contact us for advice as to the most appropriate training to obtain a Driver Qualification Card (DQC).