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2 ways to run in-house manual handling training

Liam Jones

Liam Jones

Founder of Pilla

Date Modified

14 July 2026

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I'm Liam Jones, founder of Pilla and a qualified management consultant. I've helped hundreds of businesses set up workflows, and in this article I'm going to show you two real examples of how to run in-house manual handling training.

I'll start with the simple agenda, then add a group photo for the record. You can open up each template in our workflow builder playground as a starting point and experiment for yourself.

If you're looking to automate this part of your operation, speak to an expert and we'll show you what it would take to set up.

The workflows at a glance

Article Content

#1 - The training agenda

Who it's for: Managers who know safe lifting and want to walk staff through the basics in a quick session, with a record it happened.

What it is: In-house manual handling training is a short session a manager delivers to staff. This version is the agenda for that session: a checklist of the points to cover, assessing the load, planning the route, lifting with bent knees and a straight back, keeping the load close, not twisting, and using an aid or a second person for heavy loads, plus a field for the names of everyone trained.

In practice: A supervisor gathers two new porters before their shift, runs through how to size up a keg before lifting, keep it close to the body, and turn with their feet instead of twisting, and types in who attended. Fifteen minutes, and a dated record the team was trained.

Why it works: The agenda sits on the canvas, so the session covers the same ground every time, whoever runs it. Capturing the names in the same step means one record covers the session, whether you train one person or the whole team.

Steps included:

  • 1 checklist (6 manual handling points to cover)
  • 1 field for who was trained (names)

#2 - With a group photo

Who it's for: Operations that want a photo on the training record as proof the session actually happened, not just a name typed in a box.

What it is: The training agenda plus a group photo of the staff who were trained, kept on the record alongside the names. A quick snap at the end of the session, and the record carries a picture of who was there.

In practice: The supervisor finishes running through the points, gathers the two porters for a quick photo, and saves. The training record now has the agenda, the names, and a photo of the group, one tap to produce if an inspector ever asks who was trained and when.

What it adds to the training agenda:

  1. A group photo as proof the session ran, harder to dispute than a typed name
  2. A visual record kept next to the names, in the same session
  3. Something concrete to show an inspector beyond a text log

Why it works: A photo of the group is quick to take and hard to fake, so the record carries proof the training happened, not just a note that it did.

Steps included:

  • 1 checklist (6 manual handling points to cover)
  • 1 field for who was trained (names)
  • 1 group photo of the session

How to pick the right version

You don't need to know our product to choose. Both versions are the same training agenda; the second just keeps a photo on the record too.

Do you just need a record the session ran?

If a dated agenda with the names of who attended is enough, #1 is all you need. It covers the same ground every session and gives you a record it happened.

Do you want photo proof on the record?

If you want a picture of the group alongside the names, so the record shows who was trained, #2 adds a group photo of the session.

Conclusion

In-house manual handling training turns load assessment and safe lifting technique into a short repeatable session with a record it happened. The first version logs the agenda and who attended; the second keeps a group photo of the session on the record as evidence.

→ Build your own in-house manual handling training on Pilla.