Making sure employees lift safely and avoid back injuries is an ongoing process. Good training supplemented by frequent feedback is a winning combination.
Let’s say there’s this workplace that is experiencing a high rate of back injuries. The safety manager knows that most of the injuries are a result of unsafe lifting.
The company has held safety meetings on lifting, run a back safety awareness campaign, put up posters around the workplace to remind workers about safe lifting technique, and conducted annual safety training sessions.
And still the high rate of back injuries. What to do?
One day the safety manager is walking through the plant, and he sees Kenny, a new employee, lifting a heavy box incorrectly. Instead of bending his knees and lifting with his back, Kenny’s bending at the waist, knees locked, putting a lot of unnecessary pressure on his lower back.
Kenny is a back injury waiting to happen. Maybe you’ve got a “Kenny” or “Kendra” or two in your workplace.
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Anyway, the safety manager goes up to Kenny and says, “Hey, Kenny, I’m concerned you’re going to hurt your back if you keep lifting that way. If you bend your knees and power the lift with your legs like this (he demonstrates), you’ll save your back.”
Kenny says, “Yeah, I heard that in the training session. But, you know, I’ve always done it this way, and I’ve never injured my back.”
“Well, not yet,” says the safety manager. “But if you keep doing that, I’m afraid you’ll end up in a lot of pain one of this days. Remember what Mary went through with her back injury. She was out of work for weeks and is still in pain.
There’s a flicker in Kenny’s eyes that says he’s heard.
A couple of days later when the safety manager sees Kenny lifting correctly, he says, “Good job! You’re lifting safely and protecting your back. Way to go!”
If the safety manager, Kenny’s supervisor, and his co-workers keep reinforcing that safe behavior, pretty soon Kenny’s always going be lifting safely. Safe behavior will have become a habit.
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Train to Prevent Common Injuries
Today and yesterday we featured two of the most common workplace hazards—unsafe lifting and slips, trips, and falls. Now it’s time to tell you about BLR’s Employee Training Center which has courses in both back safety and slip, trip, and fall prevention.
Unlike many training solutions available on the market today, Employee Training Center courses are routinely reviewed and updated to reflect changes in federal regulations or best practices. Each training course is developed by BLR lawyers, industry experts, and instructional designers who have experience across a wealth of industries, topics, and compliance areas.
Courses keep participants interested with engaging audio, built-in exercises, and key points to remember. At the completion of every course, individuals take a quiz designed to test for competency in all the course material presented. Quiz results and course completion times are automatically recorded.
Every course can be tailored with supporting and custom documents. BLR provides supporting documents for courses that include complete slide show notes and the answer key for the included quiz. As the administrator, you have the option of displaying uploaded documents and requiring review before the session begins. This is especially useful for company policies or worksite-specific information. Supporting materials can be added, edited, or removed at any time.
With only a few minutes’ setup, you company will have a complete Web-based training program with professionally developed courses, employee testing capabilities, and systematic documentation of employee training sessions and scores. And remember, BLR® Employee Training Center courses can be delivered at individual employee desks, in computer centers, at training kiosks, or even in a classroom.
No wonder BLR® Employee Training Center was named “Best Workforce Training Solution” by the Software Information Industry Association. It can help you launch a cost-effective and successful employee training program.
We urge you to sign up for a no-obligation demo by visiting the award-winning Employee Training Center. Or, feel free to call our customer service people toll-free at 866-696-4827.