Absolute Health and Safety Solutions Ltd

The 2007 Lighten the Load Campaign run by the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work inconjunction with the Health and Safety Exceutive have adopted the integrated management approach to tackle MSDs includes three key elements that are important for its successful implementation:

Employers, employees and government working together to tackle MSDs

Addressing the whole load on the body leading to MSDs, and

Managing the retention, rehabilitation and return to work of those who suffer, or have suffered, MSDs.

The campaign emphasises the concept of "managing the load". This does not only refer to the load being carried but also on all the "strains" being put onto the body by, for example, the material being moved, the environmental factors in which the work is being carried out, other hazards in the workplace, and the pace at which the task is done.

The Health and Safety Exceutive have produced an excellent Lighten the Load Resource Web Page to assist employers and employees with running their own campaign - the material is FREE.

The European Good Practice Awards 2007
To accompany the European Week campaign, the European Agency invites nominations for this year’s European Good Practice Awards. The awards aim to demonstrate, by example, the benefits of following good safety and health practices to all European employers and workers, and to intermediaries including the social partners, OSH professionals and practitioners, and others providing assistance and information at workplace level. There is also an opportunity for organisations include individual companies, where actions have been taken, companies or organisations within the product, equipment, or personnel supply chain, training providers and the education community, employer organisations, trade associations, trade unions, non-governmental organisations and regional or local occupational health and safety prevention services, insurance services and other intermediary organisations. Complete the UK Application Form This must be submitted to the UK Focal Point by email: uk.focalpoint@hse.gsi.gov.uk

Futher FREE information is available in over 22 different languages via the European Agency for health and Safety at Work website

Return to College & University - Lets prevent the MSD's with our Children
Spare a thought to the darlings of ours that are returning to College and University careful that they don't become a Laptop Loser The Ergonomics Society is appealing to parents to slip a safe usage pamphlet, by ergonomist Rachel Benedyk, into their son or daughter’s laptop case before they leave for university. The Society is also mailing out posters to universities to highlight the issue once the students are back on campus.

Related stories:
	Lighten the Load