Does your organisation have the typical injury rate related to Manual Handling? In Western Australia like many other states there is a regulation that states an employer must identify hazards likely to arise from manual handling; assess the risk of injury or harm arising from the hazard and consider the means to reduce the risk. Using the strategies outlined in the on the Code of Practice Manual Handling written by the Commission for Occupational Safety and Health at the following URL http://www.docep.wa.gov.au/WorkSafe/PDF/Codes_of_Practice/Code_manual_handling.pdf is very effective.
You need to include in your program the following strategies to increase your success show all your operators how to do a Manual Handling risk assessment, ensure your control strategies are in line with the Hierarchy of Controls principle and ensure everyone has in their objectives:
- completion of risk assessments; and / or
- implementation of agreed control actions.
Have a system in place to ensure everyone is accountable for making sure their objectives are completed.
Enjoy the journey!
