As a result of sprain and strain injuries occurring in the warehouse environments over the last 6 weeks, this safety observation campaign has been developed to outline the safe manual handling techniques to be used to prevent injuries in the workplace!

When conducting safety observations on Employees performing manual handling ensure the following techniques are being used;

Firstly - establish if the employee has considered using a lifting aid, such as a forklift truck, electric pallet jack, lifting or pulling equipment.

Adopt a stable position - employees feet should be apart with one leg slightly forward to maintain balance.

Get a good hold - where possible, the load should be hugged as close as possible to the body. 

• Start in a good posture - the employee should be maintaining the natural curvature of their back and bending their knees, using their thigh muscles to lift the object until they are in an upright position. 
• Keep the load close to the waist - Keep the load close to the body for as long as possible while lifting. 
• Avoid twisting the back or leaning sideways - Shoulders should be kept level and facing in the same direction as the hips. Turning by moving the feet is better than twisting and lifting at the same time. 
• Keep the head up - Look ahead, not down at the load. 
• Move smoothly - The load should not be jerked or snatched as this can make it harder to keep control. 
• Don't lift or handle more than can be managed - If the load is too heavy check the employee asked for assistance.
• REMEMBER! Safe manual handling prevents an injury from occurring!