Employees in the bed manufacturing industry are around twice as likely to suffer manual handling injuries such as back and upper limb disorders than those in any other manufacturing sector.This prompted the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), with the support of the National Bed Federation, to identify the key risk activities and encourage companies to identify solutions that would work best for them.

The report identified the highest risk activities as:

• Tape-edging – highest risk
• Handling (generally carried above the head) – high risk
• Divan assembly and dressing  – medium risk
• Mattress assembly – medium risk
• Tufting – medium risk
• Spring assembly and hand stitching of mattresses – medium risk

In a series of seminars, bed manufacturers were given the report findings and asked to produce three-year action plans to show how they could improve health and safety in these areas.

Following this period, HSE noted that a range of improvements had been made by the seven pilot companies that were revisited, including the introduction of new mechanised equipment and handling aids, and better storage arrangements to reduce the need for manual handling. One company nearly halved the number of manual handling injuries reported. Other companies noted that new ways of working to reduce manual handling had also increased their productivity.

Jessica Alexander, Executive Director of the National Bed Federation said:“It is encouraging that a number of bed manufacturers have shown their commitment to the health and safety of their employees by welcoming new ways of working. We now want to ensure that this good practice is shared across industry with the message that it can also make good business sense not only by reducing the likelihood of injuries, but potentially increasing productivity too.”

Tim Small of HSE’s Manufacturing Sector said: “By working with the industry we have been able to establish where the highest risks are and help to suggest interventions to avoid or minimize that risk. We are now aiming to communicate the findings of the report to the wider bed manufacturing industry and hope that we can help to bring about a further reduction in manual handling injuries.”

Tim Hunt, Health and Safety Manager, Silentnight Beds, said: “Getting manual handling right makes good business sense. Working with HSE allowed Silentnight to share best practice and continue to develop ways of reducing manual handling risks to protect our workers.”

A summary of the mattress handling initiative can be found on the following page of HSE’s new woodworking website: http://www.hse.gov.uk/woodworking/mattress.htm