Go Home Healthy is one of the Health and Safety Executive’s latest campaigns.
The HSE believes that ‘everyone should go home healthy from work’ and says that employers should do the right thing by protecting the health of their workers. Its campaign covers three key focus areas: work-related lung disease; work-related stress, and work-related musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs).
Nine million working days are lost each year due to musculoskeletal disorders. With such a staggering statistic, the HSE is pushing to ‘shine a light’ on MSDs through its dedicated managing MSDs campaign.
As part of the campaign, the HSE has published helpful advice on what can be done to manage the risks of MSDs. This includes a range of toolkits, FAQs, information about the different types of MSD and advice on working with display screen equipment.
There is also a work-related musculoskeletal disorders summit taking place on 21st March 2018 at the QEII Centre in London, aimed at educating employers, occupational health advisors and providers, consultants, unions and equipment designers in the risks of MSDs in a changing workplace.
Positive Change Case Study
The Shine a Light aspect of the Go Home Healthy campaign is also showcasing how some organisations have made positive changes in managing MSDs with a view to helping others change the way they work and in doing so, make tasks safer and reduce risk.
One of these organisations, a copper wire producer, had reported a number of back injuries over the course of a few months. On investigation, it transpired that there was considerable manual handling of empty and full reels of copper wire using lifting straps. Workers were loading pallets with two or three layers of reels whilst in a bent-over position. This was contributing to their back injuries. The work was therefore redesigned and the employer consulted with a lifting aids manufacturer to develop task-specific solutions. The results have been positive, with the risk of back injuries having been reduced.
Shocking Statistics
MSDs account for 41 per cent of all ill health cases, and 34 per cent of all working days lost due to ill health. The HSE wants to see significant improvements in preventing and controlling exposure to MSDs and more focus on eliminating risk.
Go Home Healthy and, in particular, Shine a Light on MSDs, clearly demonstrates that there is a considerable problem that needs to be addressed.
Lack of education in correct manual handling procedures, and failure to carry out task-specific risk assessments, all form part of the issue.
At Alistair Bromhead Ltd, we take a different approach to manual handling training. We feel this is necessary to help overcome the major problem that is so widely prevalent in the workplace.
Manual Handling Training
Our manual handler course is engaging and practical and as well as covering good handling technique, we also educate participants in the injuries associated with manual handling AND include training in producing those all-important risk assessments. We focus on the actual workplace issues faced by our participants so that the training is relevant. We also offer in-house training which can include specific advice on the correct application of any handling aids used and tailored guidance on the prevention of any particular injuries that have been arising.
The course is offered UK-wide and delivered by our extensively experienced trainers. For the full course outline and to check course availability in your area, simply register with us using the form on our manual handler course page.