Manual handling in the workplace can be described as "the transporting or supporting of loads by hand or by bodily force".
Such injuries account for approximately 25% of all injuries reported to enforcing authorities each year.
The types of injury resulting from manual handling accidents include:
- Fractures
- Lacerations
- Sprains / strains
- Contusion
These types of injuries not only cause pain and suffering to those directly affected but can also reduce your business's productivity and leave you open to civil claims from your staff and open to enforcement action through the Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992.
The Law
The Manual Handling Operations Regulations supplement the general duties placed on employers and others by the Health and Safety at Work, etc. Act 1974, and the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 and it does this by setting out a clear hierarchy of measures regarding manual handling:
- Avoid hazardous manual handling operations, so far as is reasonably practicable
- Make a suitable and sufficient assessment of any hazardous manual handling operations that cannot be avoided
- Remove or reduce the risk of injury from those operations, so far as is reasonably practicable
Factors to Consider When Carrying Out a Manual Handling Assessment
- The load
- How heavy it is
- How bulky it is
- How easy it is to grasp firmly
- Whether it is intrinsically harmful
- What the task is
- Whether it can be automated or mechanised
How Can the Risk of Manual Handling be Removed or Reduced?
- Improve layout, design or flow of work pattern
- Avoid repetitive handling
- Make loads lighter, less bulky, easier to grasp
- Remove obstructions
- Give staff training
What is the Working Environment?
- Constraints on posture, twisting, going up stairs / levels
- Poor floors
- Poor lighting
- Cold, hot or humid conditions
Who is Carrying Out the Manual Handling?
- Take into account employee's individual capabilities
- Take into account pregnant women
- Take into account staff with other health problems
- Is movement or posture hindered by protective clothing?
Train Staff to Lift Correctly and Make Sure They Comply ...
- Stand in front of the load with feet at shoulder width apart
- Assess the weight of the load
- Lift using straight back and bent knees
- Take a firm grasp of the load
- Carry out a test lift
- If safe to do so, lift the load
- Avoid twisting or bending
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