ASSESSMENT QUESTION No 4
STRATEGIES FOR DEVELOPMENT & IMPLEMENTATION
TO REDUCE NUMBER OF BACK INJURIES
INTRODUCTION
I am an area trainer working for a retail co-operative society based on the south coast of England. The society is multi-site and its stores are mainly of the convenience type although there are some supermarkets and two petrol stations. Of the many tasks associated with this work, a large number of them will involve some form of Manual handling.
Reviewing the accident records for the previous year it has been noted that there a significant number of back injuries reported amongst the staff.
ACCIDENT FIGURES ? RELATING TO BACK INJURY 2000- 2003
Accident Type 2003 2002 2001 2000
No Time Off Work 171 126 153 148
Absent for up to Three (3) Days 82 59 72 63
Absent for over Three (3) Days 31 17 19 24
Total Accidents 284 202 244 215
It is likely that these injuries may have resulted from a lack of understanding and awareness regarding Manual Handling.
It is important that this problem be dealt with as significant obligations are placed on employers with regard to all manual handling tasks in the workplace. Left alone this problem would only increase and result in a number of issues for the Society. i.e.
? Employees off sick with their associated costs. At a minimum of £5 per hour one employee off work for an ave ...