workplace injuries health & safety l
remark, but in my experience woman are far better at following procedures than men, who tend to try to cut corners. This makes women far more likely to carry out their tasks in the way they have been shown and trained and, therefore, less likely to be injured during the course of their daily routine.
claims, lost working time, etc, are taken in to account plus, of course, the greater productivity benefits that powered pallet trucks offer, many users – particularly big retailers – have concluded that they represent better value for money.
Automated guided vehicles are also back in vogue. We are working with one DC operator who is looking to use AGVs to move empty SKUs around the store. The driver for this has, in part, been the number of lost days due to injury caused by the current manual method of delivering the SKUs. TS: I think one of the problems that we, as employers, face is that it is very hard to prove if someone’s back problem has been caused by their work or if it is an existing injury. Also, while one doesn’t like to be too cynical, I also think that employment laws make it very easy for workers to ‘swing the lead’ to get time away by claiming they have, for instance, a bad back. BM: In some cases we have sent workers for MRI scans to ascertain the cause of their back problems and in some cases the test results have shown that the discomfort is due to age- related wear and tear. TM: We have paid for workers to have some form of private physiotherapy to resolve a problem. It is often far more cost effective than having a worker absent for weeks on end as they wait to be treated by the NHS.
PM: Does having a robust training programme in place mitigate against any claim a company may face for worker injury? TM: It doesn’t absolve you of blame but it can be used to mitigate the
claim. Employers have to ensure that staff on site always follow correct procedures.
PM: What is causing the increase in the number of manual handling injuries that we are seeing? Is it pressure to improve productivity? PS: The emergence of no-win, no-fee solicitors has been a big factor. With the general compensation culture that has taken hold in the UK, some people view an accident as a potential money making opportunity. TS: CCTV cameras can be useful ways of recording evidence for any injury claim. BG: Our figures indicate that agency workers are more likely to be involved in forklift accidents than permanent staff. We’ve seen an increase in the use of agency staff recently and believe it is no coincidence that Jungheinrich’s data shows a corresponding increase in reported accidents with majority being attributed to driver error.
It is an agency’s responsibility to provide staff that are trained to operate the materials handling equipment which they will be using, but it is down to the company employing them to ensure that the workers are familiar with the environment and layout of the warehouse where they will work. TS: Our experience of agency workers has been positive. The majority of the workers supplied are often eastern European and they are educated to a high standard that improves the overall calibre of the work force. TM: It is interesting how we tend to see more woman employed within a warehouse environment these days. This is in no way meant as a sexist
PM: We have addressed the importance of training and materials handling equipment developments in reducing manual handling injuries, but is a company’s ‘culture’ likely to have just as big an impact in the number of working days lost? BM: Very much so. I know our staff have bought in to what we are doing with Pristine Condition and our drive on culture and behavioural safety training. At the end of the day, workers have to realise that we train them how to lift things properly because having a bad back makes for an uncomfortable life. They might not care if it affects their performance at work, but as soon as they understand that picking up an injury will mean they can’t enjoy a round of golf or play with their kids then they tend to take on board what they are shown. In the past year we have seen the number of lost days due to all sickness fall by more than half within our company. TM: I certainly agree that there’s more respect for health and safety issues and personnel than there was 20 years ago – although some sectors of the media are intent on portraying health and safety as something that stops things happening, which, I don’t think is helpful.
However, no matter how much emphasis we as a responsible business put on training and how much we invest in the right equipment, if one of our employees is hell bent on doing something stupid that results in him or her being injured, there is not much that we or anyone else can do about it. PS: We use a special piece of equipment called a Lumber Motion Monitor. This equipment can assist companies in teaching employees to lift and carry safely and is used by ergonomists and safety personnel to prevent work-related back injuries by determining how much exposure to adverse work conditions (bending, lifting, twisting, etc.) is too much, i.e. likely to cause lower back injuries in the workplace.
PM: Thank you all very much for taking part in this discussion. ●
www.ukwa.co.uk
www.jungheinrich.co.uk www.PressOnShD.com May 2011 ShD 33
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