All employers must protect their workers from injuries, and this includes when asking them to conduct manual handling tasks in their workplaces considered to be hazardous.
What is hazardous manual handling?
The term refers to any task posing a risk to a worker’s safety or health when they are putting their body under load. It includes lifting, putting down, pushing, pulling, carrying or moving a load that can require:
- High force
- Awkward postures and positions that strain the body
- Repetitive movements
- Holding a position for extended periods
- Exposure to vibration
What do you need to do?
The law sets out how employers must deal with risks from hazardous manual handling:
- Avoid all hazardous manual handling where possible
- Where it cannot be avoided, risk assess the activity and determine safe working procedures to reduce the risk of injury to as low as possible
Employers would also be expected to have organised the labelling of loads to provide information about the weight and the position of their centre of gravity, where possible. This helps handlers to approach the task appropriately and, in turn, reduce risk.
Make sure you risk assess
Manual handling risk assessments are required by the regulations to follow a set process. This requires the task, the load, the working environment, and the individual’s capability to be considered and examined.
Some questions to consider:
- What postures will need to be adopted?
- How far does the load need to be lifted, lowered or carried?
- How frequently is the task conducted?
- What is the weight of the load?
- What is the load composed of?
- Does it have any sharp edges?
- Is it hot or cold to hold?
- Is it difficult to hold or grasp?
- Are the work areas cramped? (refer back to postures if so)
- What are the conditions of the floors? Are they suitable for shoes/wheels?
- What is the condition of the lighting?
- What is the temperature of the area? Is it to an extreme?
- What is the health of the worker undertaking the task like? Are there any underlying medical conditions?
Look out for signs of struggle from handlers
These can include:
- Breathing heavily and sweating
- Complaints of excessive fatigue
- Reluctance to do a particular task
Consider using manual handling equipment where possible to reduce any struggles.
Minimising manual handling in the workplace
Hazardous manual handling operations can be avoided by:
- Redesigning tasks to avoid moving loads
- Automating or mechanising a process
The best time to decide on mechanisation or automation is during the initial design of plant or work systems, allowing material handling to be optimally planned for and manual movement to be minimised.
A conveyor belt (between equipment or even floors), a chute, a pallet truck, an electric or hand-powered hoist, or a lift truck can all reduce the risk of harm.
Be aware of MSD
Injuries sustained during these situations are generally referred to as Musculoskeletal Disorders or MSD, which are injuries to, or disease of, the musculoskeletal system. The musculoskeletal system is made up of muscles, bones, joints and connective tissues.
MSD can include:
- Sprains and strains
- Back injuries
- Joint and bone injuries or degeneration (fractures, breaks or malformation)
- Nerve injuries or compression, e.g. carpal tunnel syndrome
- Muscular and vascular disorders
- Soft tissue injuries
- Acute pain (pain that lasts less than three months)
- Chronic pain (pain that lasts longer than three months)
Remember, we are here to help
Guidance on safe manual handling and a risk assessment template for recording the risk assessment process are available on our H&S client portal.
If you need extra help on the matter, we also offer manual handling training for you and your business. Please see our training brochure for more details.
Please do not hesitate to contact us if this has raised any questions or if you would like to discuss another H&S matter.