W T02C1519 CIOF!3AD7 L58 =----------- _____ ______ ---- ______

Whats the problem?

More than athlrd of all over-

three-day Injuries reportedeach year to HSE and local

authorities arise from manual

handllng the transporting or

supporting of loads by hand or

by bodily force

Most of the reported accidents

cause back In Jury. though

hands, arms and teet are also

vulnerable The ple chart

shows the pattern for over-

three-day Injuries reported In199091 On average, each

Injury results [n 20 days offwork, The cost IS enormous

And sometimes the victim

never fully recovers

Many manual handllng Injuriesbuild up over a period rather

than being caused by a single

handllng lncldent, These

Injuries occur wherever peopleare at work on farms and

building sites. m factories,

otfices. warehouses, hospitals.

banks. Iaboratorles, and while

making deliveries

What should I do

about it?

Consider the risks from

manual handllng to the health

and safety of your employees-

the rest of this booklet WIII

help If risks exist, the Manual

Handling Operations

Regulaflons 1992 apply.

Other: 17% Handling: 34%

1-------r-

........... -

OO23A1O 37T _

Employees have duties

too. They should:

These points are explained in

detail in sections 4 and 5.

Machine~: 5%-----------

Fall: 8%-----------

Struck by: 15%-----------

r.

--------------------------------

Avoiding manual

handling

Check whether you need tomove it at all.

Bewarenewhazards from

automation or mechanisation.

can wrapping ormachining be done withoutmoving the materials?

can you take the treatmentto the patient, not viceversa?

an automated plantstill needs cleaning,maintenance etc

lift trucks must be suitedto the work and haveproperly trained operators

m TEIZ!J517----- ---- ------------------- ----

Assessing and reducing

the risk of injury

Who should make the

assessment?

The assessment is the

employers responsibility. You

should be able to do most

assessments In-house; you

know your business better than

anyone, Most WIII require just afew minutes observation and

the use of common sense.

Adv[ce from outside experts maybe helpful in difficult or unusual

cases, or to get you started. See

the chart on page 7 for the kind

of problems to look for.

What role can employees playin carrying out assessments?

Your employees can help you

carry out the assessment they

often know what problems there

are and how they can best be

solved. If their work is varied or

not closely supervised, make

sure they are aware what risks

to look for when manual

handling. and what to do about

them. But the final responsibility

for assessments rests with

employers.

IICIZ!3AJ2 142 m

Need assessments be

recorded?

No, except where the

assessment could not easily be

repeated. In such cases the

slgnlflcant flndlngs should be

recorded and kept.

Do I have to do assessments

for each individual employee

and workplace?

No. Its quite acceptable to

combine parts of assessments

that are common to several

employees or to more than one

site or type of work

The important thing /s to identifythe risk of Injury and point theway to pract/ca/ improvements.

How should I use my

assessment?

Dont just forget t or file It away.The purpose of the assessment

IS to pinpoint the worst features

of the work and theyre the

ones you should try to improve

first. See the chart on page 7.

= TDi21J517 001?38113 087 W- -------------------------------

How far must I reduce the

risk?

To the lowest level

reasonably practicable. Thatmeans reducing the risk until

the cost of any further

precautions - in time, trouble

or money - would be far too

great in proportion to the

benefits.

Must / provide mechanicalaids in every case?

It depends whether its

reasonably practicable to do

so. But you should always

consider mechanical aids -

they can improve productivityas well as safety. Even

something as simple as a sacktruck can make a bigimprovement.

---------------------------- ----

Problems to look for whenmaking an assessment

The tasks: Do they involve -holding loads away from trunk?twisting, stooping or reachingupwards?large vertical movement?long carrying distances?strenuous pushing or pulling?unpredictable movement of loads?repetitive handling?insufficient rest or recovery time?a work rate imposed by a process?

The loads: are they -heavy, bulky or unwieldy?difficult to grasp?unstable or unpredictable?intrinsically harmful, eg sharp orhot?

The working environment:are there -constraints on posture?poor floors?variations in levels?hotlcold/humid conditions?strong air movements?poor lighting conditions?restrictions on movement orposture from clothes or personalprotective equipment?

Individual capacity:does the job -require unusual capability?endanger those with a healthproblem?endanger pregnant women?call for special information ortraining?

Ways of reducing the risk ofinjury

Can you -improve workplace layout toimprove efficiency?reduce the amount of twisting andstooping?avoid lifting from floor level orabove shoulder height?cut carrying distances?avoid repetitive handling?vary the work, allowing one set ofmuscles to rest while another isused?

Can you make the load -lighter or less bulky?easier to grasp?more stable?less damaging to hold?Have you asked your suppliers tohelp?

Can you -remove obstructions to freemovement?provide better flooring?avoid steps and steep ramps?prevent extremes of hot and cold?improve lighting?consider less restrictive clothing orpersonal protective equipment?

Can you -take better care of those who have aphysical weakness or are pregnant?give your employees moreinformation, eg about the range oftasks they are likely to face?provide training(see sections 6 and 7)?

= TtlZC15Jq CI023AIIS 751 m----------------- --------- ------

What about training?

Training is important but

remember that. on its own, it

cant overcome:

a lack of mechanical aids

unsuitable loads

bad working conditions

Training should cover

how to recognise harmfulmanual handling

appropriate systems ofwork

use of mechanical aids

good handling technique(see section 7)

Goo(d handling

technique

Here are some important

points, using a basic lifting

operation as an example,

- T02051J7--------------------------------

luE3dlL d7/1 E

--------------------------------

How do Iknowif

theres a risk of injury?

Its a matter of judgement ineach case, but there are certain

things to look out for, such asexcessive fatigue, bad posture,

cramped/untidy work areas,awkward or heavy loads or a

history of back troubles

Can you be more definite?

Its difficult to be precise: so

many factors vary between jobs,

workplaces and people. But the

general guidelines (see

section 9) should help.

So anything within the

guidelines is safe?

There is no such thing as a

completely safe manualhandling operation. But working

within the guidelines will cut therisk and reduce the need for a

more detailed assessment.

However, you should still make

the work less demanding if itsreasonably practicable to do so.

Are you saying / mustnt

exceed the guidelines?

No. They are not legal limits.But work outside the guidelinesis likely to increase the risk of

injury, so you should examine itclosely for possible improve-

ments, ie you will need to make

a more detailed assessment.

G General guidelinesS.>

Each box in the diagram shows

guideline weights for lifting andlowering. The weights assume

that the load is readily graspedwith both hands; and the oper-

ation takes place in reasonableworking conditions with the lifterin a stable body position.

If the lifters hands enter more

than one box during the

operation, use the smallestweight, Use an in-betweenweight if the hands are close toa boundary between boxes. If

the operation must take place

with the hands beyond the

boxes, make a more detailed

assessment.

--------------------------------

Twisting

Reduce the guideline weights if

the lifter twists to the side

during the operation. Asa

rough guide, reduce them by

100/~ if the handler twists

through 45, and by 200/0 if the

handler twists through 90.

Frequent lifting and

lowering

The guideline weights are for

infrequent operations up to

about 30 operations per hour -

where the pace of work is

not forced, adequate pauses to

rest or use different muscles are

possible, and the load is not

supported for any length of

time. Reduce the weights if the

operation is repeated more

often, As a rough guide, reduce

the weights by 30/0 if the

operation is repeated once or

twice per minute; by 50/0 where

the operation is repeated five to

eight times per minute; and by

80% where the operation is

repeated more than 12 times

per minute.

Individual capability

For the working population the

guideline weights will give

reasonable protection to nearly

all men and between one-half

and two-thirds of women. To

provide similar protection to

nearly all working women,

reduce the guideline weights

about a third.

by

Any operation involving more

than twice the guideline weights

should be rigorously assessed

even for very fit, well-trained

individuals working under

favorable conditions.