Manual handling one of the biggest causes of injury in the workplace
HSA produces sector specific guides to reduce manual handling injuries
24th January 2012
With many employers looking for ways to reduce costs, increase productivity and generally do more with less, nowadays it is even more important to ensure that the costs associated with workplace accidents don’t become a major issue for any business.
According to the Health and Safety Authority’s (HSA) Statistics Summary for 2009 – 2010, manual handling injuries accounted for one third of all reported injuries in 2010. These injuries are serious enough to keep the injured party out of work for 3 days or more often at significant expense to the injured party and their employer. In order to raise awareness of this issue and assist employers the HSA has published a wide range of manual handling guidance and produced on-line video case studies. There is guidance specifically for the Healthcare, Hospitality and Retail Sector where workers are particularly vulnerable to back injury. One of the main contributory causes of back injury in workplaces has been the lack of risk assessment of manual handling. The HSA guidance gives illustrated examples of simple solutions including the use of appropriate handling aids and/or better organisation of work.
Frank Power, Health and Safety Authority Inspector, believes that sector specific guidance is particularly useful, “By looking at the kind of work a Porter, Nurse or Shop Assistant has to do and giving practical examples of how to deal with manual handling we can see improvements in sectors that would have a high incidents of related injuries.”
Frank Power continued; “We recognise that time and resources are precious in the workplace but there is no point in waiting until an accident has happened, by then it’s too late. I would encourage employers to consult with their employees and together they can come up with solutions that are effective in reducing or avoiding the risk and are acceptable to both parties.”
The principles identified in the HSA guidance involve identifying the risks and developing a solution that either avoids manual handling or reduces it.
Manual handling video case studies and sector specific guidance are available freely from www.hsa.ie.
