BASICS OF MANUAL HANDLING COURSE HANDBOOK
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BASICS OF MANUAL HANDLING COURSE HANDBOOK FIRST EDITION 2011 C. N. PERRY MBA PgD CMIOSH AIIRSM RMaPS NOTE: The legislation and Guidance on Regulations extracts reproduced are done so under the Open Government License scheme v1.0 and the material is Crown copyright The legislation reproduced is from Statutory Instruments. The graphs and pictograms are extracts from the HSE publication L23 Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992 (as amended) Guidance on Regulations
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Contents Introduction to Manual Handling p 1 Manual Handling and the Human Body p 3 Manual Handling Hazards and Risks p 8 Reducing the Risk of Injury p 14 Good Lifting Technique p 22
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Introduction to Manual Handling The term Manual Handling covers a wide range of activities The Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992 (as amended) define it as; This definition covers the whole range of work activities and everybody whilst at work will do manual handling. Whether that manual handling puts them at risk will be determined by the factors which will be explored in more detail further on in this handbook Manual handling at work can range from handling simple static objects such as bricks, reams of paper, packages etc. to more awkward and challenging objects. Some things are more awkward as they may be unstable, contain liquids which can move or the load may be alive, pets for example and also possibly people. A static, inanimate load is easier to handle as it does not move whilst being handled whereas an animate load may move whilst being handled which may increase the risk. As seen in the definition above manual handling covers all work done by the use of bodily force. Remember that pushing and pulling are included in the definition and should not be overlooked. manual handling operations means any transporting or supporting of a load (including the lifting, putting down, pushing, pulling, carrying or moving thereof) by hand or by bodily force. Regulation 2(1) Page 1
When assessing the risk from manual handling, and then putting controls in place to reduce any risks present, the principle of reasonably practicable is used. Reasonably practicable is a judgement made when assessing risk and requires the person making the judgement to have sufficient knowledge of the task, be able to see the real risks involved and also experienced enough to be able to make the judgement on reasonably practicable. This judgement is critical to whether the task has disproportionate, inadequate or appropriate controls implemented dependant on the level of understanding of the task The person making the assessment must be able to understand the costs involved both in financial terms and in inconvenience and relate these to the real risks involved in the task and achieve the balance between the real risk and the cost of controls. Clearly this needs the person doing the assessment to have a full practical knowledge of the task. Definition: Reasonably practicable The principle of balancing the seriousness of the risk and the outcome of an accident with the inconvenience and cost of control measures. Low risk activities should not have unnecessary, inconvenient and costly controls applied, but ones which are appropriate. A high risk activity must not have the controls constrained by inconvenience or by cost as the seriousness of the risk and the severity of injury make the controls necessary and appropriate. You would not put on a fire proof overall and full face protection to get the Sunday roast out of the oven, you would use oven gloves and roll your sleeves down, nor would you expect a fire fighter to enter a burning building in shorts and a t shirt, you would expect them to have appropriate safety wear. When a Manual Handling Risk Assessment is made a sensible approach to risk management is needed, what would be regarded as common sense should be applied. Page 2
Manual Handling and the Human Body Manual handling is an activity which requires physical effort, normally this effort is through the arms. The arms transfer the effort, through the shoulders to the torso, the loads are transferred through the back to the pelvis then the legs and finally to the floor. The bones of the human skeleton are reasonably robust and broken bones during manual handling activities are quite rare. However, the same cannot be said for the tissue of the human body and these are the parts of the body normally damaged during manual handling. The skeleton has tissue between the bones, tissue which acts as joints where bones meet, tissue, ligaments and tendons, which aligns and supports joints, postural muscles which keep the body upright, after all you don t need to think to stand up and voluntary muscles used to cause the body to do everyday things such as walking, sitting, driving etc. Additionally nerves run down the spine. The back is the most susceptible part of the body to manual handling injuries. It is a complex system of small sections of bones (vertebrae) and the pads between them (discs) and associated muscles and tissue to support it and to cause it to move. The most common mistake in manual handling is to bend over to lift and use the back as a lever or to twist whilst lifting. Page 3
Muscles, Ligaments and tendons can suffer strains and sprains, more serious tears and rips, discs can slip out of alignment, a slipped disc and cause nerves to become trapped, quite often leading to sciatica where the sciatic nerve is trapped leading to phantom leg pains. Additionally the skin and tissues can suffer bruises and cuts from the loads carried. Injuries can be caused by both a single catastrophic event or by a repeated series of minor events, repeated over a period of time. A catastrophic event would normally be associated with handling something beyond an individual s capacity whereas injury due to repetition could be from an action which is within the individual s capacity to perform as an occasional action, but when repeated over time leads to injury as the body does not recover from the effort of the action before the next action is performed. Repetitive Strain Injuries can occur with surprisingly light tasks and lead to long term injury and possible disability just as much as a one off action can. The graph below shows the types of injuries which may be suffered. Types of over three day injury 2001/02 Sprain/Strain (69%) Laceration (11%) Contusion (6%) Superficial (4%) Fracture (4%) Other (6%) Source: HSE; L23 Page 4
The preceding pie chart shows clearly that the principal injury sustained from manual handling is a sprain or a strain which with the cuts and bruises added gives 86% of injuries sustained. The part of the body injured in manual handling accidents is shown below Source: HSE; L23 It clearly shows that the back is the most frequently injured part of the body with just under half of the injuries reported. The act of manual handling presents differing risk of injury from person to person. All people are different, they are individuals and as such there are no absolute prescriptive limits on the weight which they are able to lift, although the HSE does give guideline weights for both Males and Females. There is a principle which is based on the way the human body works. This is shown on the following diagram and is based on the charts produced by the HSE but with the suggested weights removed. Sites of over three day injuries 2001/02 Back (47%) Finger (15%) Upper Limb (11%) Hand (6%) Lower Limb (5%) Other (16%) Page 5
Close to the body, short reach, maximum handling capacity Further away from the body, longer reach, handling capacity decreases Maximum distance, at arms length, maximum reach, handling capacity at minimum The further away from the body the load, the greater the risk of injury. Within the green zone the body has maximum mechanical advantage, lifting is done using the biceps and the load is fed through the shoulder, upper arms basically parallel to the body, this means little load on the shoulders and the weight is then fed into the spine. As the lifting moves into the yellow zone the body loses mechanical advantage, the arms extend more, place more load on the shoulders, and the back may begin to bend. This increases the risk of injury. In the red zone there is little mechanical advantage, the biceps are not able to be used to full advantage, the load is through the shoulders and when bent over the back is likely to be used as a lever. This is further increases the risk of injury. The weights which can be safely handled decrease with distance or the risk of injury increases. Page 6
This principle applies to all, no matter how physically strong they may be. Additionally, twisting lowers the capacity which the individual can safely handle This is shown on the diagram overleaf along with the reduction on the loads given in percentages. Where lifting from a stooped position and twisting is combined the risk of injury is greatest. These types of tasks almost always require risk assessment to be made. When the risk assessment is made it is important that it focuses on real risk and considers repetition of the task and whether any there are any other factors such as poor posture which affects the task. 20% 10% When lifting is done while sitting down the principle already mentioned on the limitations on the weights which can be handled are similar to standing in that the further away from the body the person lifts, the greater the load experienced as mechanical advantage is lost. Note that being seated significantly reduces the weights which can be handled. Seated handling also introduces potential problems on posture, chair type etc. Page 7
Manual Handling Hazards and Risks (1) Each employer shall: (b) where it is not reasonably practicable to avoid the need for his employees to undertake any manual handling operations at work which involve a risk of their being injured (i) make a suitable and sufficient assessment of all such manual handling operations to be undertaken by them, having regard to the factors which are specified in column 1 of Schedule 1 to these Regulations and considering the questions which are specified in the corresponding entry in column 2 of that Schedule, (ii) take appropriate steps to reduce the risk of injury to those employees arising out of their undertaking any such manual handling operations to the lowest level reasonably practicable, and (iii) take appropriate steps to provide any of those employees who are undertaking any such manual handling operations with general indications and, where it is reasonably practicable to do so, precise information on Regulation 4 (1) (b) (aa) the weight of each load, and (bb) the heaviest side of any load whose centre of gravity is not positioned centrally. Page 8
The risks from manual handling are from the following principal areas below, the acronym is shown to the right. This is useful when doing a manual handling risk assessment to remember the areas to be thought about. The Task The Individual The Load The Environment The hazards presented by each of the above need to be considered in relation to the assessment you are making. The task is the first area to consider and the following tables give the areas to be thought about. It is important to think about who is doing the manual handling, is there anything about them which is special, an obvious point to consider would be have they any pre existing injuries. The Load is the next item, is it an inanimate object or animate, one which could move or is it alive, an animal or a person? Finally the environment in which the manual handling is to take place is to be thought about. How does this affect the other three elements? All these need to be thought about when making a Manual Handling Risk Assessment. T I L E Page 9
T The Individual are they? Recently pregnant Expecting Have a pre existing injury Old Young In need of specific training Unusual capacity The Task does it involve? Stooping Twisting Reaching upwards Lifting or lowering over distances Carrying loads for long distances Pushing or pulling excessive effort Need to position the load precisely Risk of the load moving suddenly Prolonged effort or frequent repetition of effort Insufficient rest for recovery Is the work rate imposed by a process Is the work done seated Need to wear Personal Protective Equipment Specific clothes for the task I Page 10
The Load is it? L Heavy Bulky Unweildy Likely to block your view of where you re going Top heavy / side heavy Difficult to grip / grasp Contents likely to move or shift Hot Cold Dangerous The Environment is it? Slippery Wet Lack of space stooping / twisting Changes in level to negotiate Poor or uneven floors Poor lighting Windy particularly gusts Poor atmosphere lack of ventilation E Poor atmosphere excessive heat / humidity Poor atmosphere cold Use of temporary walkways / access equipment Steep slopes Page 11
These factors are all part of the Manual Handling Risk Assessment which is to be made where there is actual risk of harm. Adopt a common sense approach to when a risk assessment is required. It is not for trivial risk but for real risk, though the less obvious hazards should not be overlooked. The risk assessment is a structured way of looking at the activity and working through the hazards and the risks they present along with identifying suitable controls and recording these so they can be communicated to others. The Manual Handling Risk Assessment should be made by a person with sufficient practical knowledge including, a full knowledge of the Task, the Individual, the Load and the Environment. This is most likely to be a member of the organisation such as an employer, manager or supervisor who has actual first hand knowledge and experience of the task. Employees should be involved in the process as they actually do the task and should contribute to the risk assessment proves, employees should be consulted as a matter of routine on health and safety matters either individually, through nominated representatives or in a structured way through safety committees. They can provide vital information on how they actually do the work and how it may be made safer. In some circumstances the contribution of others may be necessary in the risk assessment process. Included in these are Safety Managers, Safety Professionals, Occupational Health Professionals and Industrial Engineers. Page 12
The depth and complexity of the risk assessment should be in proportion to the risk. Simple risk assessments for simple and low risk activities, and longer more complex risk assessments for higher risk activities. Always remember that the risk assessment needs to be communicated to all those who do the task so it should be able to be understood by them easily. The production of long and complex risk assessments which are not justified by the actual risks present will have a negative effect on how employees see health and safety. The HSE guidance, L23, which can be downloaded from the HSE website free of charge has a selection of forms which you may use for carrying out risk assessments. Having stated the regulations applicable to employers, the regulations applicable to employees are now given overleaf Page 13
Each employee while at work shall make full and proper use of any system of work provided for his use by his employer in compliance with regulation 4(1)(b)(ii) of these Regulations. Regulation 5 Employees must also (a) take reasonable care for their own health and safety and that of others who may be affected by their activities; and (b) co operate with their employers to enable them to comply with their health and safety duties. Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 Section 7 Every employee shall use any machinery, equipment, dangerous substance, transport equipment, means of production or safety device provided to him by his employer in accordance both with any training in the use of the equipment concerned which has been received by him and the instructions respecting that use which have been provided to him by the said employer in compliance with the requirements and prohibitions imposed upon that employer by or under the relevant statutory provisions. of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 Reg. 14 (1) Page 14
Every employee shall inform his employer or any other employee of that employer with specific responsibility for the health and safety of his fellow employees (a) of any work situation which a person with the first mentioned employee s training and instruction would reasonably consider represented a serious and immediate danger to health and safety; and (b) of any matter which a person with the first mentioned employee s training and instruction would reasonably consider represented a shortcoming in the employer s protection arrangements for health and safety, in so far as that situation or matter either affects the health and safety of that first mentioned employee or arises out of or in connection with his own activities at work, and has not previously been reported to his employer or to any other employee of that employer in accordance with this paragraph. of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 Reg. 14 (2) Page 15
Reducing the Risk of Injury When making the risk assessment using the four elements Task, Individual, Load and Environment you will have identified those areas which cause concern. By focusing on these areas and finding solutions to them the risks can be reduced or possibly even eliminated. Some controls can be easy and simple to introduce, such as splitting loads up, this could be as simple as opening a box of A4 paper and carrying it one ream at a time, or complex and require equipment and training to use, such as the use of a vacuum lift and counterbalance system to lift items. The use of a structured approach which involves those who do the work will almost always produce the best results and identify practical controls which can be implemented. Even where it would seem not possible to avoid manual handling, and mechanisation is not possible, it is still possible to introduce controls based on limiting exposure to manual handling by job rotation and by scheduling the work to allow time for those doing the manual handling to recuperate. Example Some of the possible controls are shown on the following pages, based on the items to be considered during a Manual Handling Risk Assessment A task required the carrying of items across a workshop to the next workstation. This was identified in the risk assessment. To prevent this the work was altered to use a trolley to move the items. This removed the need to carry the items across the workshop and the trolley was purchased to be the correct height to make lifting the item from the workbench to the trolley at waist level to prevent introducing an additional hazard of lifting and lowering. The trolley was selected to have large wheels which made it easy to push. Page 16
T The Task does it involve? Stooping Move to where you don t need to stoop minimise time stooping Twisting Move your position Move the Work; redesign the task to remove need to twist Reaching upwards Lower the destination or use mechanical lift Lifting or lowering over distances Redesign the work; use mechanical aids, hoist, lifting table Carrying loads for long distances Use a trolley, sackbarrow, put on a pallet and use a forklift or pallet truck Pushing or pulling excessive effort Use skids, conveyer, proper wheeled trolley, reduce the weight Need to position the load precisely Use guides to aid positioning Risk of the load moving suddenly Secure the load; remove what may move suddenly Prolonged effort or frequent repetition of effort Reduce the weight so the repetition does not lead to fatigue or repetitive strain type injuries; more breaks; job rotation Insufficient rest for recovery More breaks; job rotation; redesign the task Is the work rate imposed by a process Give control of the speed to the operator; redesign the task Is the work done seated Carefully evaluate the ergonomics of the task Page 17
The Individual are they? Recently pregnant This must be covered in a specific risk assessment under the of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 as a specific item; consider how this impacts on the other elements T, L, E Expecting pregnant This must be covered in a specific risk assessment under the of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 as a specific item; consider how this impacts on the other elements T, L, E Have a pre existing injury You must take into account any pre existing injury as the task may cause this to reoccur Old Does the person s age present any issues which need to be addressed Young Does their youth or inexperience put them at risk. They may need a specific Young Person s Risk assessment under the of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 In need of specific training Does the task require specific training to be done safely Unusual capacity Is the task such that it needs a minimum capacity to do Need to wear Personal Protective Equipment Does personal protective equipment impact on the task; thick gloves reduce dexterity Specific clothes for the task Does the wearing of special clothes affect the task; Clothes to protect against heat or cold can be cumbersome And restrict movement I Page 18
L The Load is it? Heavy Look for the weight label or if you originate the item put a weight label on it; Can it be split up into sections; put on a trolley, forklift; lifted by machine Bulky Would it be better team handled or put on a trolley Unweildy Can it be split down; team handled or mechanically handled Likely to block your view of where you re going Is it possible to use someone to guide you; team handled do both people can see Top heavy / side heavy Label the heavy side; look for the heavy this side label; Mechanise the handling Difficult to grip / grasp Wear gloves with grip on the palms and fingers use a handle or grabs Contents likely to move or shift Can the contents be secured; team handle to make sure if it shifts the load can still be safely handled Hot Use grips, handle, mechanical means; reduce handling time; more breaks to avoid fatigue Cold Use grips, handle, mechanical means; reduce handling time; more breaks to avoid cold affecting the muscles Dangerous Mechanical handling to be considered; pu the load in a spill resistant container train in handling technique and precautions and provide Personal Protective Equipment Page 19
E Page 20
The possible controls in blue text are not exhaustive but provided to illustrate a range of possible controls. Those actually applicable will depend on the task being assessed. Where it is not possible to avoid having to manually handle a load, especially lifting a load the use of good handling principles will assist in preventing injury. The pictograms which follow show, step by step the principle of good lifting technique. The procedure for lifting starts with assessing the load to be moved. Page 21
Good Lifting Technique Think first, plan how to handle the load, the route and The destination. Are there obstacles, stairs, etc. Assess the load. Visually check for any weight markings or indicators. Size is not always a reliable indicator of weight. Rock the load as shown to assess its weight Position the feet close to the load to keep the load close to the body. Lift with the leg muscles keeping the back straight and the chin looking ahead not down. This keeps the spine as straight as possible. Raise the load close to the body using the leg muscles keeping the back straight and looking ahead, again this keeps the spine as straight as possible. Page 22
Don t do it like these!!! Walk with the load close to the body keeping the head looking forward and the back straight When placing the load lower using the legs rather than bending the back. This may mean placing the load closer to the edge of a surface and then manoeuvring into final position without risk of injury. Using your back as a lever like the picture is putting you at extreme risk of injury. It is not advisable to lift anything in this manner Do not twist and lift, especially like this, reaching up, at arms length. Page 23
Team lifting is one way that the load can be shared between a number of persons. This has its hazards. Team lifting needs one person to control the lift and if the load blocks the view of where the load is to go, or if there are obstacles, then an additional person may be needed to guide the team. When doing any kind of manual handling plan what you re going to do, where you re going and how you re going to get there. Consider whether doors need to be opened, especially for team handling. Check if the narrow places, especially doorways are wide enough, again especially important for team handling, can the load and the team pass through? The last thing needed when manual handling is needing to put the load down to open doors, reposition yourself relative to the load or find it won t fit. Where possible avoid manual handling or make it as easy as possible. Use mechanical aids: Mechanical aids need not be hi tech or expensive, a simple sack barrow makes moving loads much easier, push them along with minimal effort Page 24
For moving items placed on pallets the pallet truck is useful though it does not work well on rough or uneven floors and is not easy to use where step changes in level or slopes are to be negotiated The forklift truck is powered and the driver can lift and lower loads, pick them up and transport over long distances. It has limitations where crossing slopes is required but rough terrain types are available and these may be fitted with various attachments. Page 25
To assist in carrying flat items, such as glass, it is possible to obtain inexpensive handles which attach by suction and make lifting easier than the cartoon below. Better still use a trolley. Page 26