Manual Handling

What is manual handling? ‘Manual handling’ means any transporting or supporting of a load (including the lifting, putting down, pushing, carrying or moving thereof) by hand or by bodily force.

The Problem

More than a third of all reported over three day injuries result from manual handling activities. A special survey conducted in 2001/02 estimated that about 1.1 million people suffered from musculoskeletal disorders caused or made worse by their current or past work.
An estimated 12.3 million working days were lost. On average each sufferer took about 20 days off work in the 12-month period.

Injuries Associated with Manual Handling

Injuries to discs, ligaments and muscles are often a cumulative nature and are not necessarily caused by a single activity.
A contributing factor in many injuries is the adoption of a poor lifting technique. Lifting or lowering loads should be done by bending the legs keeping the back straight.
Other injuries can be caused by dropping a load onto the feet, trapping the fingers or hands, being cut by sharp edges or getting splinters from the load’s surface.

Broad type of Injury are:
·    65% strains
·    9% superficial
·    7% other
·    7% contusion
·    7% laceration
·    5% fractures

Parts of the body affected are:
·    45% back
·    16% fingers/thumb
·    13% arm
·    Remainder – lower limbs, torso

Where safe system or mechanical aids are introduced  a duty is placed on employees to follow the safe system and use any aids that the employer provides.
Where the need to manually handle things cannot be avoided then a risk assessment is required and this can be used to work out the safest way to manual handle a load.

Factors to Consider in the Risk Assessment

In addition to the actual weight consider:

• The distance the object has to be moved
• How often it has to be moved
• The size and shape of the load
• The quality or otherwise of handholds
• The centre or gravity of the load
• The rigidity of the load
• The starting and finishing position of the load
• Any other significant characteristics
• The capability of the individual to deal with the load

In order to reduce the risk the employer has to:

1. Avoid hazardous manual handling operations where reasonably practicable.
2. Consider whether the load must be moved at all. And if it must, whether it can be moved mechanically, for example, by fork-lift truck.
3. Assess adequately any hazardous operations that cannot be avoided. The assessment should look at the weight shape and size of the load; the way the task is carried out, the working environment and the individual’s capability.
4. Reduce the risk of injury as far as reasonably practicable by e.g. using mechanical handling aids or breaking down the load; re-organizing the task; giving additional training.