Did you know that around 38% of workplace injuries reported to HSE each year are as a result of a manual handling incident? That means the staff concerned were incapacitated by an injury for more than three days, making the incident reportable under the Reporting of Injuries, Disease and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1995 (RIDDOR).
Back pain is a common result. This complaint resulted in 5 million lost workdays last year. It affects 8 out of 10 people during the course of their lives. Compensation claims are high: statistics show that, just within the NHS, they amount to £400 million a year.
Insurance Companies Have Taken Note
Some insurance companies are requesting their customers provide proof that they have put their personnel through appropriate training and are keeping up to date on developments in manual handling techniques. This will be reflected in the insurance premiums they are charged.
Organisations are looking at how to save costs on all this training and many find they will be best off with in-house trainers who have attended the Alistair Bromhead Manual Handling Train the Trainer Course which is certified by City & Guilds. Demand for the course has never been so high. Of the first 7 courses planned for this year, only one still has places available.
The Value of In-house Manual Handling Trainers
Having your own manual handling trainers makes sense for many reasons. Of course you don’t want to feel responsible for staff suffering after injuries at work, but there are also more cost implications. You might have to engage more staff and train them. You might lose production time. There might be damage to products or the production processes. You might face fines or other legal fees not covered by insurance. And your insurance premiums would go up.
Compared to all this, the value gained from the cost of a Manual Handling Train the Trainer Course makes it a really sound investment.