Illness or injury can cost your business a lot of money. Production is lost. You must find and train replacements. Workers compensation premiums rise. Many incidents don’t hurt people — they damage property.

Prevention is better than cure. It may cost you some time and money now to improve safety but in the long run it will be worth it. Deaths, permanent disabilities and serious injuries are rare, but they do happen. We need to do whatever we can to find the more unlikely sorts of hazards that might cause them. You need to ask yourself questions that begin with ‘What if …?’

Check your existing records. You can often tell a great deal about unnoticed hazards by looking carefully at your existing records such as workers compensation records, first aid records, reports on accidents and near misses, and reports by employees or supervisors.

• What percentage of workplace injuries are caused by manual handling?
• The actual statistic is one in every three, or 33%.

Improving manual handling

What safe methods can be used for manual materials handling?

Includes:

• Classroom work (OHS, Videos, demonstrations, instructions)
• Training Plan
• Workbooks
• Written assessment
• Statement of Attendance

• All workbooks, assessments and training materials
• Hi-Vis vest
• Statement of Attendance