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When thinking of manualhandling, we often think of lifting a box orheavy weight but this term covers a widerrange of activities such as lowering orputting down; pushing or pulling of objectslike trolleys, carrying or moving a load.According to the Manual HandlingOperations Regulations (1992) asamended (MHOR)1 manual handling is“…any transporting or supporting of a loadby hand or by bodily force”.

The load being transported or supportedcan be anything from an inanimate objectsuch as a box or a trolley to an animateload such as a person (as in-patienthandling) or an animal.

Every one of us is susceptible toMusculoskeletal Disorders (MSDs) suchas back pain. It is estimated that 80% ofus will get some form of back pain at leastonce in our lifetime. Work, leisure or justnormal day-to-day activities like gettingdressed can trigger back pain.

Manual handling is a major concern for theHealth and Safety Executive (HSE)because it affects large numbers of peoplein most industries and occupations. It hasthe potential to ruin lives, and it imposesheavy costs on business and society.

Prevention of ManualHandling Related Injuriesin the Workplace

What is manual handling?Why bother about it? More than a third of all over-three-day

injuries reported to the HSE and localauthorities each year are considered tohave been caused by work-relatedmanual handling activities. In 2001/02 thecost to society and business of workplaceaccidents and ill health was estimated tobe as much as £31.8 billion and we cansafely assume that the cost today wouldbe much higher2. In 2006/07 HSEestimates that more than 10 million work-ing days were lost due to musculoskeletaldisorders caused or made worse by workand over one million people in GreatBritain reported suffering from some formof work-related musculoskeletal disorder3.That’s 2.7% of the working population. Ofthese reported musculoskeletal problems,43% were disorders mainly affecting theback1.

Newsletter

Healthy Work Matters Newsletter I s s u e 1 6 A u t u m n 2 0 0 8

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Case Study 1A daily task at a wholesale plant

nursery involved moving very large plantsand trees in pots. The plants were heavy,bulky and of various sizes and shapes.Moving them presented a serious manualhandling challenge. The company sourceda specialised barrow for moving the largestplants.The introduction of the barrow made itmuch easier for the staff to transport plantsaround the site and on or off vehicles.

Staff now report that there is no strain ontheir backs. An additional benefit is that itnow takes only one person to move aplant, whereas at least two people wererequired before.

The company also sells the barrows to itstrade customers with the plants which hasmeant that customers are more willing tobuy larger plants. Consequently turnoverhas increased5.

Case Studies

The following are two casestudies where improvedmanual handling practicehas benefited theorganisations concerned

Case Study 2A manufacturing company stored

bulk chemicals in large tubs weighing 20-25 kg and some were stored on the floor orat shoulder height. This meant reachingdown or up, both of which increase the riskof injury. The company reduced the risk byrequiring that the heavy tubs were storedat waist height.This was discussed with the workers soeveryone was aware of the newarrangements and why this wasnecessary. Staff were also provided withrefresher training in good manual handlingtechnique.The company considered the benefits ofthis change to be potential savings fromthe reduced risk of accident and injury totheir staff when manually handling tubs.An additional benefit was an improvementin efficiency as the staff found it easier andquicker to find the chemicals they needed.

Further InformationYou can find more information on theprevention of manual handling relatedinjuries in the workplace on the HSEwebsite.A copy of the MAC4 tool and traininginformation can also be downloaded fromthe HSE website: www.hse.gov.uk

For case studies seewww.hse.gov.uk/msd/experience

References:1 Health and safety statistics 2006/07 HSE.www.hse.gov.uk/statistics1

2 Interim update of “The costs to Britain ofwork-place accidents and work related illhealth” www.hse.gov.uk/statistics

3 Manual Handling Operations Regulations1992 (as amended) Guidance onRegulations L26 HSE Books 2004.ISBN 0 7176 2823 X

4 Manual Handling Assessment ChartsINDG383 HSE Books ISBN 07176 2741 1Please contact Shamim Rahman or Kerry Poole at:

with your comments healthyworkmatters@hsl.gov.uk Tel: 01298 218416

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What are therisk factorsfor manualhandling?

As back pain is often associatedwith work-related manual handling,avoiding or reducing the risks involved inthese work activities can help to prevent orminimise the risks of injury and ill health.The MHOR (1992)2 sets out a hierarchy ofmeasures for dealing with risks frommanual handling which are:

Avoidhazardous manual handlingoperations so far as reasonablypracticable,

Assess any hazardous manualhandling operations that cannot beavoided,

Reduce the risk of injury so far as isreasonably practicable, and

Review the assessment oncecontrols have been applied.

It isn’t necessary for a detailed riskassessment to be carried out on everymanual handling operation. For example,a job that requires the occasional lifting ofa small, lightweight object is likely toinvolve a negligible manual handling risk.Here is a list of some of the main riskfactors for manual handling activities.Where work tasks involve these factorsand where it is not reasonably practicableto eliminate the handling task entirely, amore detailed risk assessment is likely tobe required.

How can injuries be prevented?

Healthy Work Matters Newsletter I s s u e 1 6 A u t u m n 2 0 0 8

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Avoiding the need to transport orsupport an object manually is the bestoption if it is reasonably practicable to doso. Automating the process, pipingmaterials rather than manually transportingthem, bringing the treatment to the patientrather than the other way round, using con-veyor systems, hoists and lift trucks are allmethods that could be considered toremove the need to manually handle heavyor awkward loads. Where eliminating themanual handling task entirely is not apractical option, the activity needs to beassessed and the risk factors addressed toreduce them. Methods that could beconsidered to reduce the risks include:

Better Backs2007-2008

The HSE Better Backs campaignhas been running since 2005 when thefocus was on a holistic approach to man-aging back pain. The campaign aims toreduce the incidence of back pain andupper limb disorders (ULDs) caused ormade worse by work, lessen the impact ofback pain and ULDs, and reduce thenumber of working days lost due to backpain and ULDs.

This year the focus of the campaign is onpromoting the use of sensible workplaceprecautions to reduce risk. However, asnot all MSD ill health can be prevented, thecampaign also aims to promote goodreturn to work, sickness absencepractices, and the benefits of stayingactive when experiencing back pain.

Factors considered would include thenature of the task, the capability of theindividual doing the task, the load, and thephysical, organisation and psychosocialenvironment in which the task is carriedout.

The Manual Handling Assessment Charts(MAC)4 is a useful tool designed to helpassess the most common physical riskfactors in manual handling tasks. Wherethe MAC tool indicates that high physicalrisk factors are present for a task, theserisk factors should be the focus for changein order to reduce the overall risk. TheMAC tool can be used to assess the riskfactors associated with manual handlingoperations involving lifting/lowering, carryingand team handling of inanimate loads.[NB. The MAC is not appropriate for everymanual handling operation nor does itcomprise a full risk assessment. Forfurther information on risk assessment seeL23 Manual Handling Guidance onRegulations]2.

Risk factors for manualhandling include:

� Repetitive and/or heavy lifting� Bending and twisting frequently� Uncomfortable working position� Exerting too much force� Working too long without breaks� Adverse working environments (hot,

cold)� Psychosocial factors (e.g. high job

demands, time pressure, lack ofcontrol of work method)

The many different risk factors for manualhandling highlight the importance of takingan ergonomic approach to assessing therisks. Using this approach, workers wouldbe involved in the risk assessment andreduction process, each manual handlingtask would be looked at as part of a wholetask, and a wide range of factors would beconsidered.

Solutions to reduce manual handling risksdo not have to be prohibitively costly.Simple, practical solutions like storingheavier materials on waist height shelvesor using a trolley instead of carrying a loadmay be all that is needed. The solutionsmay also be cost effective: some companieshave found that introducing measures toreduce the risks from manual handlinghave improved productivity, saved time,reduced wastage and even increasedturnover.

� Reducing the size or weight of theload

� Using mechanical aids such astrolleys or hoists to support andmove the load

� Improving working conditions� Redesigning the working environment

and work process to enable improvedpostures to be adopted

� Providing the workforce with trainingin manual handling risks and goodhandling techniques.