With several members of our team completing the National Water Hygiene Card Scheme in March this month our maintenance and drilling staff undertook the CIEH Level 2 Award in Manual Handling course.

The course was run by Livius Training based in Ripon and this Chartered Institute of Environmental Health qualification has been designed for employees who carry out manual handling at work and provides essential information about various manual handling hazards and how to address them safely.

Why is this training important?

Under the Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992, employers are required to take appropriate steps to reduce the risk of injury to employees. Our drilling and maintenance teams handle heavy goods on a daily basis so as part of these regulations require suitable training. Dales Water take health and safety very seriously and it’s extremely important that our staff are well versed in how to handle objects safely without risking injury to themselves or the general public.

What’s included in the Manual Handling Course?

The CIEH Level 2 Award in Manual Handling – Principles and Practice course combined theoretical and hands-on tasks. Our staff learned about techniques to lift, carry, push and pull objects safely within their individual capabilities. This includes lifting loads from low levels, working at low levels, lowering from height, carrying and team handling.

Outcomes of the Course

After taking the course staff were able to:

  • Identify and understand the risks associated with manual handling
  • Learn the value of risk assessment and how to apply it
  • Make recommendations to manage risks
  • Apply the principles of safer handling to a range of everyday manual handling tasks

Director Jonathan Dalton had this to say about the course:

Health and safety plays a big part in how we run the company so it’s important staff are trained in manually handling goods properly. All of our team who took the course thought the trainers were fantastic and at the end of the day everyone left feeling as though they had learnt something that they will put into practice during day to day operations. I was really impressed by Livius Training’s flexibility to meet our needs as a company and competitive pricing, the range of courses they have available is impressive and it’s training like this that will help us move forward as a company.