Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: Welcome to the Stay Safe podcast. I'm your host, Liam Scott. And today we're kicking things off with something that most people don't take seriously enough and that's manual handling.
You might think that that's just lifting stuff, you keep your back straight, you bend your knees and that's it covered. But the reality is that manual handling injuries make up a third of all workplace accidents in the uk.
Every year, hundreds of thousands of workers suffer from back pain, muscle damage and long term mobility issues, many of which could be completely avoided with the right approach.
So today we're going to be covering why manual handling injuries are so common and can be so serious. How to lift, carry and move loads safely. And why personal responsibility is key because it is you who suffers if things go wrong. This isn't about ticking a box for site safety records, this is about keeping yourself healthy and safe so that you can continue to work, earn and live pain free. So let's get into it. In 2022-2023, nearly 450,000 workers in the UK suffered from work related musculoskeletal disorders and construction workers were amongst the hardest hit. The most common injuries, back pains, slipped discs and shoulder damage, all caused by lifting, twisting and carrying incorrectly. And manual handling injuries can cost the UK construction industry around 1.2 billion a year through lost productivity and compensation claims. But if we put the numbers aside for a second, because this isn't about statistics, it's about you and your body and your health and your ability to work and live pain free.
So when your back goes, we have to think that that's time that you're off work with lost wages and stress at home. And the thing is, that can be completely avoidable. And when we think about manual handling, we have to think about more than just the lifting operation itself. We've all heard of things like tile, where we look at the task, the individual's capability, the load and the environment.
So when we think about the task, we need to be thinking about the nature of the operation. Are we lifting and carrying something or are we pushing or pulling? We need to consider things like the frequency of the operation, the duration of the operation and the physical demands of the task. When we look at individual, we need to think about the person who's going to be carrying out that job, whether that's about strength, experience or any physical limitations. How are we feeling at work today? Are we under the weather or are we feeling like we can do the job adequately? We also need to consider any pre existing medical conditions or any vulnerabilities to make sure that we're picking the right people to carry out the task. And when we look at the load, we need to think about what it is that we're handling. We need to think about its size, its weight, its shape, the surface texture, and how easily that the load could be gripped, ready to be moved. And then we think about the environment.
We have to think about the surroundings of the manual handling activity. We need to look at things like the floor surface to make sure it's not too slippery, not too wet, not too boggy. We need to look at lighting to make sure we can see where we're going adequately.
We need to look at the presence of obstacles to make sure that we plan our route effectively. We need to look at all of those potential hazards or distractions in the environment to make sure that we can carry out that task safely.
Once we've taken all those considerations, we then need to make sure that we carry out the task as effectively as possible and as safely as possible. So before we start, we need to make sure that we are wearing the proper equipment, we've got the proper PPE on, whether that might be gloves that are going to make it easier for us to grip the item that we're carrying.
And then when we present ourselves to the item that we're going to be lifting or pushing and pulling, we need a good starting position. So we need that item inside our base. So we try and put our feet shoulder width apart. We're putting one foot in front of the other for good balance. If we're lifting and we make sure that we are using our legs to do the lifting, not our spine.
[00:04:01] Speaker B: This podcast is being provided by Scott, Risk management Specialist, Health and safety consultants.
If you operate an SME business, you know that meeting all of the business needs is a juggling act. If you want to simplify safety, save time and stay compliant, SRM GENIE is the solution. For more information, head to the details at the end of this episode.
[00:04:24] Speaker A: And once we're in bad position and we've lifted the item, we need to be holding it comfortably as close to our body as possible, preferably around our torso, making sure that we don't lock our elbows and our knees as we move, we need to keep our head up so that we can see where we're going and take comfortable steps to make sure that we're walking smoothly. If we can't see where we're going, then we need somebody to help us do that. So we need a spotter with us to Help lead the way as we're carrying the item. If we need to, we need to be putting the item down so that we can stop. Depending on the duration of the lift and how far we're carrying the item, we might need to break up the lift into smaller lifting operations.
As we go where a team lift can be beneficial, we have to make sure that we communicate with our team members using simple instructions. 1, 2, 3, lift. 1, 2, 3, down. And when we finish the job, we set it down correctly, we lower slowly with our back as straight as possible. And remember, if the load is too heavy or too awkward, we need to stop what we're doing and get help or look to use equipment.
Whether we're using hoist or sack trucks, pallet trucks, if we've got them, we need to make sure they're in good working order and then use them appropriately. We need to make sure that we know that we're following weight limit information on things that we're carrying. We need to pace ourselves accordingly. Multiple lifting activities can cause fatigue, and fatigue can increase the risk of injury.
We need to be making sure that we're wearing good PPE to reduce the risk of dropping items. And remember, don't try to be the hero. If you're struggling, ask for help. And despite knowing these principles, and all of us do know these principles, we all know someone that's hurt their back doing manual handling work, and it's usually that they haven't applied those principles. They've leant over and just picked something up quickly, they've jarred their back or they've felt that sharp pain. All of those things are completely avoidable by taking the right time to do the job safely as we possibly can. And when we really think about it, how much time are we actually saving by not doing this correctly? And what is that time actually worth to us as individuals? It's probably just a few seconds, but we get injured at work and that's it. Whether it's your evening, your week, or possibly longer, depending on the severity of your injury. Ruined.
And is that really worth it? So let's sum up. Manual handling injuries aren't just workplace incidents.
They affect your entire life, whether that's short term or long term. So before lifting something today, ask yourself, is there a safer way to do this? Because one bad move can cost you a little bit more than backache. Thank you for listening to our Stay Safe podcast. I hope you found it informative. I know how precious your time can be, so I hope that you found this format useful. Please subscribe and leave us a review. And if you do, please reach out so that I can thank you personally.
And if you think there are any topics that we should be covering, please let us know as we're doing this to keep our workforces safe so we are always receptive to why industries need to hear from us.
Thank you again and until next time, stay safe.
[00:07:30] Speaker B: This podcast has been provided by srm, the owners of the bespoke health and safety management software SRM genie, created for and focused on supporting SME businesses.
If you would like more information on how you can simplify safety, save time and stay compliant, go to www.srmginisoftware.co.uk.
