Manual Handling Training: Why So Many Workplaces Need Manual Handling Courses
Table of Contents
Outside of a few industries, manual handling training isn’t something most business owners or workers think about. Manual handling techniques help prevent the injuries caused by repeated moving of heavy objects and repetitive tasks, so unless you work in a warehouse or move patients in healthcare it’s probably not something that’s been on your radar. But the truth is, manual handling tasks are present in every workplace, and every industry can stand to have better manual handling practices.
What Manual Handling Training Covers
Manual handling is any physical task that uses bodily force to lift, lower, push, pull, carry or otherwise move, hold or restrain a person or object. Manual handling training teaches workers and managers to identify which of those tasks are hazardous and what to do about them. A manual handling course covers five areas:
Hazard recognition
You will learn to recognise the specific conditions that make a manual task hazardous, including repetitive movements, awkward postures, sustained force, vibration and supporting people whose movements are unpredictable.
Risk assessment
You will learn to examine each manual task by looking at the force required, the range and frequency of movement involved, the postures the task demands and the duration of exposure. The course teaches you to rate the severity and likelihood of harm for each factor, then rank tasks by the level of risk they pose so you can direct controls to where injury is most likely to occur.
Control measures
The course teaches a hierarchy of controls: eliminating or redesigning the task, then using mechanical aids such as hoists and trolleys, then applying lifting techniques and safe manual handling postures where no other control is practicable.
Legislation
Under the Work Health and Safety Act, every person conducting a business or undertaking must identify hazardous manual tasks, assess the risks, implement controls and consult workers who are directly affected. The Hazardous Manual Tasks Code of Practice sets out how to meet those requirements by redesigning work, documenting your risk assessment process, and what constitutes a sufficient control.
Reporting
The course teaches you to record hazard identifications and risk assessments in writing, noting the task, the risk factors present, the controls applied and the date of review. Incidents and near misses are recorded separately, capturing what happened, the contributing conditions and what was done in response.
Common Manual Handling Risks, Hazards, and Injuries
The risk factors that manual handling training is designed to reduce fall into a small set of well-defined categories. When these risk factors are present without adequate controls, musculoskeletal injuries or diseases affecting the muscles, bones, joints, tendons, ligaments, nerves and spinal discs can occur. They can develop suddenly through a single overexertion or through repeated low-level stress over months or years.
Repetition and duration
Repeated movements over extended periods place cumulative stress on muscles, tendons and joints, even when no single movement requires much effort.
Force
Tasks that require significant physical effort, such as lifting heavy loads, physically supporting a person or object, or pushing equipment that resists movement all put the body under stress beyond what it can safely absorb over time.
Awkward postures
Work that requires twisting, bending, reaching above shoulder height or sustained positions in confined spaces places the spine and joints under stress beyond what they tolerate in neutral positions.
Vibration
Sustained exposure to vibration from machinery, vehicles or handheld tools can damage nerves and blood vessels in the hands and arms over time.
Why a Manual Handling Training Course Works for Every Industry
Manual handling training applies to any workplace where physical tasks are performed, because the risk factors it addresses are not specific to any one industry. The hazards look different on the surface, but the underlying mechanics are the same.
Every employer with workers who lift, carry, push or pull has direct exposure to Australia’s most common category of serious compensation claims. An accredited manual handling course with a registered training organisation (RTO) gives your workers the hazard identification skills, safe technique and risk control practices to manage physical tasks safely, in your workplace and any role they move into.
Your team manages physical tasks every working day, and enrolling in manual handling training gives them the practical skills to handle those tasks without the kind of injuries that end careers.
FAQs
How Often Should Manual Handling Training Be Refreshed?
There is no single official timeframe for refresher training across all Australian states and territories. WorkSafe recommends scheduling an annual refresher gives workplaces a practical way to maintain their skills and satisfy safety requirements.
What Are the Best Related Courses?
Workers may benefit from pairing it with a first aid certification, particularly in care and community service environments where both courses address physical risk in direct client contact roles.
Do I Need to Take a Manual Handling Training Course to Become an NDIS Support Worker?
NDIS providers must ensure workers are trained to perform their roles safely, and this includes manual handling training for workers who physically support clients. Completing an accredited course such as the HLTWHS005 module gives you a documented credential that satisfies provider onboarding requirements.
