Cymraeg

Session 10:
Manual Handling

At the end of this session you will be able to:

  • Explain what the law is
  • Understand how to reduce risks
  • Explain how to lift different weights correctly

Introduction

Manual handling causes over a third of all workplace injuries. These include work-related musculoskeletal disorders (MSDS) such as pain and injuries to arms, legs and joints, and repetitive strain injuries of various sorts.

Manual handling includes lifting, carrying, putting down, pushing, pulling, moving or supporting a load by hand or using other bodily force. It is not just the weight of the load that can cause injury: the size, shape, available grip, the way you carry the load, where you have to carry it, and how often you have to do the task all play a part.

Guidelines and the law

Guidelines from the Health and safety Executive.

The Law: Manual handling – Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992

The Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992 set out a clear hierarchy of measures for dealing with risk likely to cause harm from manual handling.

These are:
• avoid hazardous manual handling operations so far as reasonably practicable;
• assess any manual handling operations that cannot be avoided;
• reduce the risk of injury to as low as reasonably practicable.

How to avoid injury

Consider whether you have to move the load manually at all. If possible eliminate manual handling completely, for example:

Fully mechanise the task. A move to big bales, or fertiliser in big bags, eliminates manual handling because they can only be moved by machine.
Use other mechanised systems to eliminate the filling, carrying and tipping of small feed bags or sacks.
Introduce feed-handling systems incorporating bulk storage bins and distribution pipes to eliminate the handling of feed compounds.

Assessing

If you cannot avoid manual handling, look at the risks from your handling operations. You do not have to look at every task in detail.

Guide

Reducing the Risk of Handling Injuries

If you cannot eliminate the risk, look at how you can reduce it to an acceptable level, for example:

Use mechanical assistance and/or lifting aids.
Change to smaller, lighter unit sizes, eg use feed blocks or feed bags weighing 25 kg or less.
Reduce lifting or carrying distances by providing mechanical or other ways to move goods.
Find improved ways of handling.
Where manual handling tasks remain and you cannot avoid them, make sure that workers know how to use the correct lifting techniques and provide training to enable them to do this.

Summary

As you have seen, The Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992 apply to a wide range of manual handling activities, including lifting, lowering, pushing, pulling or carrying.

The load may be either animate, such as a person or an animal, or inanimate, such as a box or a trolley.

It is the duty of the employer to correctly identify the risks and to inform the staff. The employer will also need to supply equipment where needed to lift heavy objects. The employee should follow safe lifting guidelines and also use equipment correctly.