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Manual Handling Training Questions


Who Partakes in Manual Handling at Work?

Certain industries will by their very nature require employees to lift or move objects which place a particular strain upon the body. This does not have to be much; even small loads or ones which are not particularly heavy can bring about an injury which takes a person a long time to recover from, often requiring them to spend many days or weeks away from the workplace (which is obviously bad from a business perspective!) This is where manual handling training can help.


Why Do Employees Require Manual Handling Training?

Anyone may think that lifting or moving an object is a natural ability that requires no teaching or instruction. They think that because they have been doing this all of their lives, it is a basic human function and nobody could teach them anything more about the subject, and can even get quite affronted or annoyed when told they are to receive training in manual handling. In actual fact however, it is highly likely that they are not lifting in the correct way, and that they are causing wear and tear on their body's joints and areas such as the spine, which will one day be able to take it no more and develop an injury.

Many manual handling injuries are brought about in this way through long-term repetitive actions, although there are also a high number of injuries caused by sudden or sharp movements which can cause a lot of damage to the body such as sprains, dislocations and tendon pulls. The risks from manual handling therefore come from both short-term and long-term issues associated with the correct lifting and manipulation of loads.

Acquiring a thorough understanding of the dangers to health which inadequate manual handling can cause will greatly assists workers in minimising the likelihood of them suffering such an injury when combined with effective manual handling training courses. Knowing the risks and understanding how to avoid them will significantly reduce the probability of injury.


How and Where is Manual Handling Training Provided?

Safe manual handling is an important topic. Like fire it is a hazard which is quite easily preventable but can cause significant damage to the body if preventions fail. As such, manual handling issues are either taught in a bespoke health and safety training course dedicated entirely to the subject, which focuses upon the specific manual handling issues likely to be encountered in the particular place of work, or as part of a general health and safety course or qualification like the NEBOSH General Certificate for instance.


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