Fri, 2 Jan 2009
It is vital for small businesses to provide proper
training on how to lift and carry objects, according to the Royal
Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA).
Small firms need to provide proper training so that employees have the correct skills to carry out lifting procedures in the safest manner possible, it has been suggested.
Jo Stagg, senior press officer at the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA), explains musculoskeletal disorders are the most common occupational malady in Britain, affecting around a million people every year.
She states these include joint injuries, repetitive strain injuries and lower back pain, adding RoSPA knows it is a "significant issue" because - as is the case with most things in the workplace - such risks can be managed.
"In terms of manual handling, it is really important that employers conduct a risk assessment just to assess the risks to their workers involved in the different types of loads that they are likely to lift," Ms Stagg continues.
Based on the result of a risk assessment, managers at small firms can then make decisions about what actions are required - and in some cases this can result in the removal of risk altogether, she notes.
Should something genuinely need to be lifted, then manual handling training "really comes into play", the RoSPA representative says.
Concluding, she explains if employees are not trained, health and safety accidents at work can be very costly, especially given the current economic climate.
Ms Stagg's comments come after the British Osteopathic Association suggested people tend to adopt a "solider on" attitude towards wellbeing in the workplace, thinking that they are "infallible", especially when they are younger.
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The learndirect team