Is Back Injury Prevention Training Worth It?

Many companies devote time to training their employees on back safety in which they teach the basics of back anatomy and safe lifting techniques.  The question I have had on this training “Is the time and money spent on back injury prevention worth it?”  Of course, this question (“Is it worth it?”) should be asked of any training.  After all, training takes time, takes employees away from their jobs and therefore is a significant investment by the company in their personnel as well as financially.

A study in the British Medical Journal, “Effect of training and lifting equipment for preventing back pain in lifting and handling: systematic review” attempted to determine whether advice and training on working techniques and lifting equipment prevented back pain in jobs that involve heavy lifting.  The researchers reviewed previously published studies that addressed back safety training and the impact on reducing injuries.  The evaluated the studies based on certain inclusion and exclusion factors (please refer to the study for details).  After analyzing the studies that met their inclusion criteria they came to the following conclusion:

“There is no evidence to support use of advice or training in working techniques with or without lifting equipment for preventing back pain or consequent disability. The findings challenge current widespread practice of advising workers on correct lifting technique.”

The authors suggested two possible reasons for why training was not effective in preventing injuries.  The reasons given are summarized below:

• Training intervention was not appropriate.   They theorize that if the training methods were more engaging, workers would learn more and in turn the number of injuries should go down.
• There were other factors involved that led to back pain not related to the instructed lifting technique

The authors could not say whether the above reasons were actual factors in the studies they analyzed.

The conclusion of this study is important for employers and safety professionals to know as it directly pertains to the training they provide to their employees.  As an ergonomist my first response when talking to employers who are having back injury issues is not focused on improving their employee safety training, it is focus on evaluating the situation and coming up with solutions that eliminate the need to the risky task in the first place.  The most effective and sustainable solution for injury prevention should not be based on training behaviors or techniques but should be based on designing the work so the risks for injuries and errors are eliminated or minimized as much as possible.  Good work design results in optimal human performance, work efficiency and safety.  It’s a win for the employer and a win for the employees and a win for the employer’s customers who receive the quality service and products produced by the good work design.