Manual Handling Techniques: Risk Assessment, DPI & Self-Care

This report discusses manual handling techniques within the healthcare sector, focusing on the Discomfort, Pain, and Injury (DPI) prevention program launched by the Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC). It highlights the importance of a multi-component approach to moving and handling programs, including risk assessment, specific handling techniques, and comprehensive training. The report identifies occupational hazards related to workplace environments, body mechanics, and client-related factors. Furthermore, it addresses the responsibilities of self-care when moving and handling people, including the development of a manual handling policy, consultation with workers, risk assessment and control implementation, and the provision of specific training to minimize risks and ensure employee understanding. The document emphasizes a structured approach to risk assessment, involving task identification, data collection, hazard identification, and the development of action plans for risk mitigation.

Running head: MANUAL HANDLING TECHNIQUES
MANUAL HANDLING TECHNIQUES
Name of the Student
Name of the Organization
Author Note

MANUAL HANDLING TECHNIQUES 1
Task 1
1. Discomfort, injury and pain (DPI) prevention programme was launched in the
month of August in the year 2006 and was promoted by Accident Compensation Corporation
(ACC). This programme is responsible for addressing both the management and prevention
of the system of tendons, muscles, bones, ligaments, joints as well as the tissues associated,
making the body move and maintaining its form (Naregal,2016). This respective programme
is mainly based on complex and comprehensive approach to these troubles and problems
within the workplace. It is a unique programme as per the unique approach and now it has
become the largest workplace for the programme of musculoskeletal conditions. The main
aim of the programme is to minimize several musculoskeletal injuries in the workplaces of
New Zealand by forming a combination of three pre-existed national enterprise programmes
into individual effective trouble, pain and injury programme of prevention. This programme
of DPI was mainly developed by collaborating with the health practitioners of workplaces.
Several training programmes and free resources were delivered (Chen et al., 2014). The
concepts of DPI were enclosed into a broad range of industries and all the resources of health
and safety in the workplaces. The DPI programme resulted into the formation of document
which included graphs and consists of information clearly portraying all the important yearly
reductions of claims over the programme life. It also provides data or information, training
and several tools for those who are responsible for health and safety within the workplace. It
also provides these resources to all the professionals working for the prevention of injury and
health and also for the management of the injury. The discomfort, injury and pain (DPI)
programme of prevention is responsible for enabling ACC (Accident Compensation
Corporation) in order to make important reductions in the price of the musculoskeletal claims
of injury of the workplace. The significance to the prevention of injury is clearly provided by

MANUAL HANDLING TECHNIQUES 2
the overview providing the history of this respective programme from the concept by
implementing, rationale explaining and also including the details achieved in the initial
starting five years (Hughes & Cline,2015). The overview will be only of interest for those
who are working in and enhancing and developing the place of work injury programmes of
prevention as well as for the members and partners associated with the DPI programme.
2. As per previous researches it has been observed that moving and handling
programmes by itself are not as effective as moving and handling programmes with multiple
components (Rushton, Croucher & Baker, 2014). The training given to the staff in moving
and handling of techniques alone cannot reduce injuries effectively. Moving and handling
programme comprising of several components results in an effective reduction of problems
and injuries among staff of health care centres (Christopher,2016). The three main
components of the programme includes Risk Assessment, Techniques for the movement and
handling of people and Training for the movement and handling of people.
Risk Assessment
The main purpose of risk assessment is to clearly identify the risk associated with
several hazards and manage these hazards for the reduction of the possibility of incidents
occurring which may cause a lot of harm and injury for the clients (Fray & Hignett,2013).
This risk assessment is nothing but a process which can also be considered as the key
procedure for all kinds of moving and handling (Rahman et al., 2015). Several risks are
associated with different kinds of hazards like hazards related to the organization and the
practices of the place of work, hazards in the physical environment of work place, hazards
related to the clients and lastly the hazards for carers and in the utilization of techniques
associated with the movement and handling.

MANUAL HANDLING TECHNIQUES 3
Techniques for the movement and handling of people
There are several kinds of techniques associated with the movement and handling of
people which has its main aim of presenting a general set of several techniques which are
compatible with the best practice (Choi & Brings,2016). The basic and the key techniques for
the movement and handling of people includes four groups of transfers including sitting and
standing technique, technique of movement in bed, sidelong transfers in between surfaces
which are at same heights and lastly the use of hosts. All the techniques which are outlined
need three main requirements. These requirements include providing appropriate training to
the carers, conduction of risk assessment and lastly availability of suitable requirements.
These techniques are consistent with respect to the recent practices accepted internationally
and mainly based on research advice and literature from the experienced and professional
educators in New Zealand.
Training for the movement and handling of people
Training is considered to be one of the six main components which are needed for
providing an effective movement and handling of programme (Mital, 2017). This specific
training is responsible for providing information about several protocols and policies for
movement and handling, teaching all the staffs the process of identification and assessment of
the risks associated with the client movement and handling purpose. It also gives support to
the professional growth by enhancing knowledge as well as skills, provides with the skills for
the management of risks to the staffs, , helps workers to meet their responsibilities which are
legal and enhancing the safety of client and also helps in preserving their dignity.

MANUAL HANDLING TECHNIQUES 4
Occupational Hazards related to the work place:
Working hours: Extended or long work hours like a time period of more than eight
hours may lead to an increased possibility of several risks of injury. Sometimes when
overtime becomes essential as workers are not available on the next shift or when people
works in a shift of twelve hours serving for the dependent people. Not providing enough time
between people handling the movement and handling tasks may result to fatigue.
Work Environment: Some of the hazards associated with the physical environment
of the workplace includes fall hazards like wires, uneven surface of work, limitation of space
having small rooms, less space around toilets and poor lighting condition (Bahn,2013). Work
environment hazards also includes poor design of facility for transferring tasks within the
area of transfer and also for the required equipment.
Body movements or Body mechanisms: Hazards related to the body movements
include application of extra force or the amount of effort applied physically like pulling or
lifting and awkward positions (Ghosh, 2013). Awkward positions are assumed to be mainly
the positions which provides stress on the whole body like leaning on the bed, trunk twisting
while moving any particular client and over height of shoulder for extending periods.
Other hazards: Other hazards may include hazards which are related to the clients. It
includes poor adjustability, variation in the cooperation with the clients, differences in
language and cultures, client being not predictable when moved and people facing difficulties
in moving because of their size.

MANUAL HANDLING TECHNIQUES 5
Task 2
Responsibilities of self-care while moving and handling people
Development of a Manual Handling Policy: Management policy statement includes
several statements which includes:-
 Treating the management of self-handling as developing the goals of the
organization for maintaining a healthy environment of the workplace (Kneafsey,
Clifford & Greenfield,2015).
 Expectation of total co-operation of the total force of work at every level
which includes suppliers working towards ergonomic developments for avoiding and
reducing activities of manual handling involving risks.
 Assigning lead roles to the proper trained and competent staff.
 Managing priority of manual handling with other reduction of cost,
productivity and activities related to quality assurance (Ananthanarayanan et al.,
2013).
 Providing commitment for the implementation of the process of risk
management in order to reduce or totally remove the activity of manual handling.
Consultation: The regulations of manual handling provides a duty to the employer in
order to assess several activities of handling for clearly identifying those activities involving
risks and for putting several measures which are effective in that place to avoid the risk
(Goode et al., 2014). To make this process effective there is a need for consultation with all
the people doing the job. The involvement of worker by consulting on the issues related to
health as well as safety. This consultation must take place at the stage where planning is done

MANUAL HANDLING TECHNIQUES 6
for including new work systems, at the stage of planning to identify the jobs which are to be
accessed and lastly at the time of reviewing alternative measure of control for addressing a
job problem (Poisson et al.,2014). This consultation may take place through informal or
formal procedures and the output or the result is to be documented formally. The consultation
can be made effective by involving a particular person with the organization during the
process of consultation. There is a need for all the recommendations which are resulting from
the process of consultation to receive responses on time and make the resources available for
the implementation of the solution.
Assessment of risk and control implementation: The set of manual handling
regulations provides a structure for the workers for avoiding or lowering manual activity of
handling. There is a need for all the employers to assess their self-handling operation and
steps are to be taken for avoiding and reducing the risk of getting an injury (Cantley et al.,
2014). This risk can be prevented or lowered by introducing proper organizational processes
and measures like enhanced and developed structural layout of the area of work which will
reduce long distances of carrying that are not necessary at all. Risk assessment is a process
which includes getting a well knowledge of any task which is being carried out by collecting
all technical details of the work and clearly identifying and checking if there is any kind of
risk hazard present. It is also a process of exploring and seeing what choices or results are
available which may reduce or totally remove the risk factor or hazard and finally putting an
idea in place for introducing the control measures which are agreed. As it is already known
that risk assessment process is to be always completed at the stage when the project is
designed, efforts are made at this stage for putting proper measures in place for removing the
factors of risks which are potential. The process of risk assessment includes identification of
hazard, risk assessment and implementation of controlling steps. It basically the scene that if
the activity of manual handling is to be handled effectively then it is very much important to

MANUAL HANDLING TECHNIQUES 7
study the work in detail and then gather information which are relevant to the task. After that
if any risk factor is present it is identified.
Stages involved in the process of risk assessment:
 Identification of the task of manual handling which is needed to be assessed.
 Risk assessment programme development.
 Perform the process of risk assessment.
 Observation and description of the task for getting a proper understanding of
the task which is to be performed.
 Collection of the data based on the task.
 Finding all the risk factors and clearly identify them if any.
 Development of the solution and preparation of an action plan for lowering
and eliminating the risk factors.
Training: The self-handling training is needed to be a specific one to the involved
work. The main aim is to ensure the understanding of employees about all the reasons for
performing the job with minimum amount of risk (Nurmianto, Ciptomulyono &
Kromodihardjo, 2015). It also ensures that the workers can clearly identify and recognize the
risks and find out the best way or method of doing the task. The period of time taken for the
training depends upon several factors and depends upon the complexity related to the
procedures of handling which are being taught (Kay, Evans & Glass, 2015). The training for
a refresher take place for an interval of about three years whenever there is any huge change
in the involved task or if any employee is to be transferred to some other activity which needs
several loads of tasks to be handled. Workers can even engage with external competent
trainers. Self-handling training is made available to the trainers from several organizations.

MANUAL HANDLING TECHNIQUES 8
Suitable and perfect trainers are specially those who have received proper training and have
enough knowledge, experiences and skills in the subject matter and also have the capability
of communicating effectively and are able to provide demonstrations practically and have
proper materials required for teaching.

MANUAL HANDLING TECHNIQUES 9
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