Business owners need to be aware of the risks of manual handling to their workforce as, according to statistics from the Health And Safety Executive, over 50% of accidents that are reported each year are related to manual handling. In 2010/11 an estimated 7.6 million working days were lost due to back (and other upper limb & neck) problems. Figures also show that four out of five people will suffer from a back problem at some point in their life, with most being work related. On average each person who suffered a work related injury took 17.2 days off which could heavily impact a small businesses ability to operate effectively. Strains, sprains, hernias and contusions account for 50% of manual handling injuries with another 20% being caused by cuts and other lacerations. Back problems are notoriously problematic as it often takes a long time to heal and, once damaged, it remains a weak point and more susceptible to damage in the future.
Manual handling is defined as any activity that requires movement or force to transport or support a load without the assistance of a mechanical device. With technology increasing as fast as it is, it would be expected that hi tech solutions would reduce manual handling but unfortunately it appears not to be the case.
People are still required to move items from A to B and it looks like that will not change in the near future. Increasingly it appears that weight is no longer the main issue as people are being injured by relatively light weights as a sedentary lifestyle mean people are less used to lifting and physical activity in general.
The main area of risk in manual handling is back and upper limb problems, but also occasionally fractures where items have been dropped or trapped. Under RIDDOR, a business owner needs to report a broken bone in the hand or foot but not for broken fingers and toes. Apparently these are often broken without people realising and would prove an excessive administrative burden for business owners and the Health & Safety Executive.
The majority of injuries occur over a long time, eg years, as the cumulative effect of lifting takes it affect eg strains where muscles have been stretched beyond their normal limits. Occasionally, of course, someone lifts something too heavy and immediately sprains their back as the sudden activity weakens their muscles by excessive exertion - often this is workers who are not used to manual handling and lift items once in a while. Office workers and those who don't lift very often are sometimes at as much risk as warehouse staff, builders and nurses where lifting id a dail occurrence.
As a business owner it makes sense to reduce the risk of manual handling on your business so that staff remain productive and your product or service gets delivered to your customers.
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Nigel J Welford is a qualified Health & Safety professional and believes in making health and safety as simple as possible whilst still being effective and meeting all the regulations. For his free report "The Secret To How Health & Safety Can Improve Your Business And Profits: 7 Everyday Pitfalls To Avoid" from http://www.healthandsafetyintheworkplace.com
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