Manual handling training shows how to avoid injury
If you work in any job that requires manual handling, you may need a manual handling certificate.
Manual handling training will equip you with the knowledge to be able to assess your manual handling tasks for conditions such as these:
Forceful muscular exertions
Forceful muscular exertions place high loads on muscles, tendons, ligaments, joints and discs. Muscles fatigue with increased exertion, and need more time to recover.
The level of muscular effort needed to do a job may be increased by factors such as:
- awkward or fixed working postures
- heavy, bulky or difficult to grip loads
- fast or sudden movements
- working with a grip that does not allow a large area of the hand to contact the handle
- using vibrating tools that need more effort to grip
- wearing gloves (which increase muscular effort involved in using a tool by about 20%)
- the design of hand tools
- the nature of the load (heavy, awkward or unstable)
- the load handling procedure (for example, lifting, pushing, pulling or carrying)
- work organisation (for example, poorly maintained equipment that requires effort to use)
- the individual’s strength and capacity to do the manual task.
Often it is a mixture of a number of factors that will increase the risk of injury from forceful exertion. The manual handling course will provide you with a more detailed explanation of the body and how it works in manual handling.
Pushing and pulling
Pushing and pulling loads that are too heavy and require forceful exertion may strain the neck, back and shoulder. Workplace examples include using a pallet jack and sliding a box across the floor.
Pushing and pulling involve three phases:
1. starting the load in motion (usually requiring the most exertion)
2. sustaining the motion
3. stopping the load from moving.
Forceful gripping
Gripping by the hand is used in most industrial tasks. We grip tools, containers, equipment and loads using three main types of grip:
- the power grip – where a large surface of the hand is used and muscle force is low
- the hook grip – where fingers curl around an object and the thumb stabilises the load; equal in strength to the power grip strength
- the pinch grip – when the ends of fingers pinch an object; grip strength is only 25% of the power grip strength.
The muscular effort involved in gripping sometimes leads to carpal tunnel syndrome, a painful disorder of the hand and wrist.
Of course, there are other risky manual handling actions that require attention. But from the above examples you can see how important manual handling training can be in avoiding injury. On completion of the manual handling certificate, you will be able to make safe choices at work.
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