Manual handling health safety executive

Controlling the risks As part of managing the health and safety of your business, you must control the risks in your workplace. To do this you need to think about what might cause harm to people and decide whether you are doing enough to prevent harm. This process is known as a risk assessment and it is something you are required by law to carry out.

A risk assessment is about identifying and taking sensible and proportionate measures to control the risks in your workplace, not about creating huge amounts of paperwork. You are probably already taking steps to protect your employees, but your risk assessment will help you decide whether you should be doing more. Think about how accidents and ill health could happen and concentrate on real risks — those that are most likely and which will cause the most harm.

Having identified the hazards, you then have to decide how likely it is that harm will occur. Risk is a part of everyday life and you are not expected to eliminate all risks. What you must do is make sure you know about the main risks and the things you need to do to manage them responsibly. Generally, you need to do everything reasonably practicable to protect people from harm.

Make a record of your significant findings — the hazards, how people might be harmed by them and what you have in place to control the risks. Any record produced should be simple and focused on controls. If you have fewer than five employees you do not have to write anything down. But it is useful to do this so you can review it at a later date, for example if something changes. If you have five or more employees, you are required by law to write it down.

Few workplaces stay the same, so it makes sense to review what you are doing regularly. If so, do they work? This means balancing the level of risk against the measures needed to control the risk in terms of money, time and trouble. Do I have to provide mechanical aids in every case? You should definitely provide mechanical aids if it is reasonably practicable to do so and the risks identified in your risk assessment can be reduced or eliminated by this means.

But you should consider mechanical aids in other situations as well — they can improve productivity as well as safety. Even something as simple as a sack truck can make a big improvement. What about training? Good handling technique for lifting Here are some practical tips, suitable for use in training people in safe manual handling.

Plan the lift. Can Adopt a stable position. The feet should be apart handling aids be used? Where is the load going to be with one leg slightly forward to maintain balance placed?

Will help be needed with the load? Remove alongside the load, if it is on the ground. The worker obstructions such as discarded wrapping materials. Avoid tight clothing or table or bench to change grip. Where possible, the load should be Keep the load close to the waist. Keep the load hugged as close as possible to the body. This may be close to the body for as long as possible while lifting. Keep the heaviest side of the load next to the body. If a close approach to the load is not possible, try to Start in a good posture.

At the start of the lift, slight slide it towards the body before attempting to lift it. This can happen if the legs begin to straighten before starting to raise the load. Avoid twisting the back or leaning sideways, Keep the head up when handling. Look ahead, not especially while the back is bent. Shoulders should be down at the load, once it has been held securely. Turning by moving the feet is better than twisting and Move smoothly.

The load should not be jerked or lifting at the same time. Manual handling injuries are injuries that should not be overlooked as it has serious negative effects. According to the Health and Safety Executive, approximately , people were injured at work from manual handling incidents in Repetitive strain injury: It is also known as work-related upper limb disorder, or non-specific upper limb pain.

It is called upper limb disorder because it majorly affects the upper body, such as the, forearms and elbows, wrists and hands, neck and shoulders, etc. Repetitive strain injury is caused by repetitive movement and overuse of muscles, nerves and tendons resulting to pains in these areas. Muscle pulls or strains: This is caused by sudden and unexpected tear of the muscle as in acute muscle pull or repetitive movement as in chronic muscle strain.

Strains can happen in any muscle, but are most common in the muscle of the lower back, neck, shoulder, and hamstring. It mostly result to pain and may limit movement within the affected muscle group.

Additional Material. General cause of muscle strain include: Not warming up properly before physical activity, Poor flexibility, Poor conditioning, Overexertion and fatigue, Poor posture, etc. Trapped nerves: A pinched nerve occurs when too much pressure is applied to a nerve by surrounding tissues, such as bones, cartilage, muscles or tendons.

One of the risk factor here is overuse. Jobs or hobbies that require repetitive hand, wrist or shoulder movements, such as assembly line work, increase the likelihood of developing a trapped nerve. Hernias: All hernias are caused by a combination of pressure and an opening or weakness of muscle or fascia; the pressure pushes an organ or tissue through the opening or weak spot.

Anything that causes an increase in pressure in the abdomen can cause a hernia, including: Lifting heavy objects without stabilizing the abdominal muscles. MSDs are prevalent in all sectors but agriculture, fisheries, logistics and transport, construction and health and social care have significantly higher than average rates.

Both physical and psychosocial factors can contribute to work-related MSDs, and they can be aggravated by people's activities outside work and their general health and fitness. Online tutorial on how to use the Manual handling assessment chart MAC tool. Roll cages and wheeled racks. Picking up the pieces: Prevention of musculoskeletal disorders in the ceramics industry PDF.

Management of Health and Safety at Work. Workplace Health, Safety and Welfare.