MoveSMART is a series of modules that teach principles, skills, and attitudes necessary for safety. The MoveSMART system offers teams and organizations a systematic process for boosting safety performance to positively influence and enhance an organization's safety culture.
MoveSMART also provides individuals with concrete strategies and skills for taking personal control of their own safety. Participants learn simple, yet powerful, techniques to improve balance, leverage, and position that increase safety while reducing strain and the wear-and-tear of work.
MoveSMART consists of four modules:
- MoveSMART: Strength & Control
- MoveSMART: Advancing Strength & Control
- MoveSMART: Balance
- MoveSMART: HandSMART®
Each of these modules is presented as a five-day Instructor-catalyst training. Their primary focus is enabling participants to effectively present 2.5- to 3-hour training classes on their module, and to help them become positive catalysts for change. In addition to MoveSMART principles, subjects covered include presentation skills and techniques, coaching to use MoveSMART after the initial training, implementation for success, and how to keep MoveSMART alive and growing.
Here's a typical agenda for the week of training, which can be (and usually is) adjusted for group energy, group dynamics, or participant's previous exposure to MoveSMART training:
- Monday - sample training program demonstration, and distribute materials
- Tuesday - learn and practice presenting the first half of the training program
- Wednesday morning - present part of the program to the course instructor(s)
Wednesday afternoon - Worksite Practice in applying MoveSMART principles (we prefer to conduct Worksite Practice in a work area, but it may also be done in the training room with appropriate items)
- Thursday - learn and practice presenting the second half of the training program, discussion of presentation skills and techniques, coaching in the use of MoveSMART after the initial class, implementation for success, and keeping MoveSMART alive and growing
- Friday morning - present the entire MoveSMART program to the instructor(s) - class is completed about noon on Friday
Instructor-catalysts receive the training and all the materials needed to give quality seminars and coach employees for substantial safety change.
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Safe handling, lifting, and carrying
MoveSMART: Strength & Control is our core MoveSMART module. Its objective is to build a base of techniques and strategies that increase useable strength, improve balance and control, increase body awareness, and enhance judgment. It's designed to help reduce the frequency and severity of injuries from pushing, pulling, lifting, handling, and repetitive work. This module also serves as a foundation for subsequent MoveSMART training.
Objectives
- techniques for reducing wear, tear, and strain
- principles of positioning for best leverage
- how to spread workload forces
- easy re-energizers to help workers stay fresh
- strategic four-step plan for personal safety
- how to apply these techniques to specific work applications
Topics
- techniques and principles (Smart Hands™, Safe Handling Zones™, Line of Power™, and Mental SuperGlue™)
- Plan for Personal Control
- Re-energizers
- application through work practice
- presentation skills
- quality assurance and reinforcement
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Dynamics of safe handling, lifting, and carrying
[NOTE: This training is only available to already certified MoveSMART Instructor-Catalysts.]
MoveSMART: Advancing Strength & Control takes the principles of our core MoveSMART module to a higher level. Participants learn innovative techniques, applications, reinforcement strategies, and concepts. Its objective is to build on the foundation of skills and information learned in the core Strength & Control module and to provide new, powerful, tools (including physical, attention, and judgment tactics) and strategies for reducing handling injuries.
Objectives
- nine new demonstrations of MoveSMART principles to prevent strains and sprains
- alignment principles for redirecting force
- methods to improve situational attention and judgment
- integrate these new techniques into daily activities to reduce the impact of potentially harmful forces (e.g. handling materials or using tools)
- learn to effectively coach others to better apply these principles to specific work applications
- become re-certifed as core MoveSMART: Strength & Control Instructor-Catalysts for an additional three-year period
- boost motivation and skills for taking personal control for safety
Topics
- techniques and principles that apply alignment, attention, and body position to boost strength and control through a dynamic range of motion
- boost skills for directing attention and improve safety performance
- coaching skills for worksite applications and improving judgment
- enhanced refresher of the core MoveSMART: Strength & Control module
- take personal control for safety
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Improving balance, reducing slips, trips, and falls
Our MoveSMART: Balance module teaches proven techniques for preventing slips, trips, and falls on uneven and slippery surfaces, stairs and ladders, and minimizing injuries from unavoidable falls. Learn improved balance while on the move, real and hidden risk factors, how to stay on their feet in slippery or at-risk conditions, to develop effective default reactions, and how to recover balance.
Objectives
- slip, trips, and fall injury prevention methods and strategies to increase physical control and reduce the chance of injury
- practical applications for job and home situations
- techniques for walking/working where surfaces are slippery or uneven
- a strategic plan for improved balance and increased personal safety
Topics
- techniques and principles (Keep Your Crown™, Natural Alignment, Power Legs™, and Tuning Your Balance), and how to minimize potential injuries
- how to teach these FallSAFE® techniques
- four-step plan for improved balance
- practice making practical applications for typical exposures
- boost awareness to internal and external conditions
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Preventing acute and chronic hand injuries
Our MoveSMART: HandSMART module is based on work experience, martial arts, kinesiology, and industrial psychology. HandSMART extends traditional hand safety and injury prevention to include fingers, hands, wrists, and arms. Learn to assess physical limitations, increase risk awareness, maximize hand and wrist strength, and set up to avoid shifting objects.
Objectives
- hand injury prevention methods and strategies that show hand safety as more than just wearing personal protective equipment - it's also the result of developing judgment and skill
- attention skills and principles to help see potential hazards
- techniques to recognize and reduce the level of accepted risk
- judgment and decision-making, including developing a plan for taking personal control of hand safety
- the impact of brain, eyes, torso, and base on keeping hands safe
- physical skills to enhance leverage, control, available strength, and balance
- hand and forearm refreshers and re-energizers
- optimal alignment positions for elbows, hands, wrists, and legs for hand safety
Topics
- techniques and principles (DIAP™, Directing Attention, Seeing Hand Injury Potentials, Arms not Wings™, Aligned Wrist, Positioned for Control™, and Tripod of Support™)
- keys to improved hand safety
- HandSMART model for injury prevention
- re-energizers for improving hand control
- take personal control for hand safety
- applications for work, home, and favorite activities
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