COMPANY NAME

MANUAL HANDLING CHAMPIONS

COMPANY LOGO

WELCOME

Congratulations on becoming a COMPANY NAME ‘Manual Handling Champion’. This is an exciting program COMPANY NAME has introduced in order to help reduce the risk of manual handling injuries across all aspects of our business and we appreciate your commitment to helping us achieve this goal. The below information aims to provide you with some additional direction in addition to the manual handling training you have received.

We have created manual handling champions to assist the business and we appreciate your support. However, if you have any concerns at any stage or you wish to discuss any aspects of your role or manual handling issues please feel free to contact the WHS Manager via the details below:

NAME:

TITLE:

PHONE:

MANUAL HANDLING AT COMPANY NAME

COMPANY NAME has a commitment to reducing the manual handling risk associated with all work activities that our employees (and other duty holders) undertake as part of our work processes. Over the past 12 months, X% of the total injuries across the business has occurred due to manual handling related causes. In comparison, in all NSW workplaces, manual handling related injuries are approximately 1/3 of all injuries which occur. Hence, our focus on this important safety issue within our business.

COMPANY NAME has engaged an external training provider to assist us in implementing our manual handling policy within the business. This training was undertaken during MONTH and we aim to carry out refresher training every 1-2 years. In addition to this training, COMPANY NAME have or are implementing a number of other initiatives relating to our manual handling program. These include:

  • Manual handling training
  • Manual handling ‘Champions’
  • Manual Handling Hazard & Risk Assessments
  • Review of manual handling assistive devices
  • Etc

WHAT IS A MANUAL HANDLING CHAMPION?

We appreciate you have accepted to become one of COMPANY NAME’s ‘Manual Handling Champions’ but may be wondering what exactly does that mean. As part of the recent manual handling training all employees at COMPANY NAME have received key information on the principles of manual handling. We acknowledge that such training will be a key step in helping our employees to learn the correct and incorrect techniques for many of their work activities. We ultimately hope these employees will implement these techniques on an ongoing basis within their daily routines. However, we also understand that manual handling postures relate to ‘habits’ and changing habits and/or poor manual handling technique does not just occur by attending one training session but rather occurs through constant re-enforcement of the key principles. This is where our manual handling champions come in.

The role of the manual handling champions will be to constantly reinforce the correct manual handling techniques of their colleagues during their daily work routine. Listed below are the key aspects of what a manual handling champion should do and what they should not do as part of their role.

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Manual Handling Champions should:

  • Always remain positive when providing feedback to colleagues about their manual handling postures
  • Use appropriate language when discussing the correct technique or how the employee could improve their technique
  • Be conscious of their own manual handling postures to
  • a) ensure their own safety and
  • b) to set an example for other workers on how to perform tasks using a safe technique
  • Seek clarification from the WHS Manager and/or training materials if uncertain about how a manual handling principle should be best implemented with a certain work task
  • Provide constructive feedback to all colleagues within their area at appropriate times
  • Attend all designated manual handling training as provided by the employer
  • Facilitate employee learning of key manual handling principles and how these apply to the work tasks that employee is required to undertake
  • Correct, in a supportive manner, any employee whose manual handling technique is not within guidance provided by manual handling training providers
  • Manual handling champions must never denigrate employees for their manual handling technique.
  • Ensure the focus of the role remains on improvement and facilitate of a positive manual handling culture across the business
  • Assist the employer to identify manual handling hazards, carry out risk assessments and identify appropriate controls utilising the “hierarchy of controls” as outlined in the Risk Management Policy
  • Carry out X number of manual handling sessions with employees (NB: This is up to the employer whether they set limits/targets on how many assessments/observations such champions carry out)
  • List other roles and functions as the business wishes

Manual Handling Champions should not:

  • Talk negatively to colleagues when discussing manual handling feedback
  • Abuse the role to address personal or work issues with the colleagues they provide feedback to. It is important issues of bullying and harassment are not instigated by this process as the business has a commitment to ensuring no employee is bullied or harassed at work.
  • Focus on only certain colleagues within the work group in terms of providing feedback
  • List others as the business wishes

WHAT ADDITIONAL TRAINING WILL BE PROVIDED TO MANUAL HANDLING CHAMPIONS?

Each ‘Champion’ will be provided with the normal manual handling awareness training which all employees will receive in order for them to understand the key aspects of what manual handling is and what are the key principles. In addition to this, each ‘Champion’ will be provided with additional training which involves assessing and providing feedback to colleagues on how they are undertaking certain work tasks. Although this training will be undertaken in a classroom format, the focus will be on giving the ‘Champions’ an opportunity to practice the techniques, seek clarification from the trainer about how they personally are performing the technique and then what they should look for when monitoring a colleagues technique ‘in the field’.

‘Champions’ are encouraged to ask the trainer any questions they feel appropriate during the training to help them understand the correct and incorrect manual handling techniques so that once back in the field they can help their colleagues to maintain the correct posture on an ongoing basis.

If, over time, the Champion wishes to discuss any particular techniques with a COMPANY NAME employee they can contact the WHS Manager on the details listed above. Champions are also encouraged to review their training materials on a regular basis to ‘refresh’ their own understanding of the key manual handling principles.

ADDITIONAL MATERIALS

In addition to your manual handling training, we have attached additional manual handling information to this handout which should be used for your future reference to better understand the key manual handling principles.

SUMMARY

Once again we thank you for accepting the role of ‘Manual Handling Champion’ within COMPANY NAME. We believe your role will be influential in reducing the manual handling injuries and risk within our business on an ongoing basis. This will in turn help COMPANY NAME to achieve our aim of zero injuries and ensure all our employees return home each day as they came to work.

Thanks

Name

Manager Rep – COMPANY NAME

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