Risk Assessments
All manual-handling operations at work must be avoided so far as is reasonably practicable when the task involves a risk of the employees being injured.
It may be that the need for manual handling can be eliminated altogether for example: the operation could be automated or mechanised although these will often create their own hazards. Where it is not reasonably practicable to avoid the need for manual handling, a suitable and sufficient assessment must be made to see whether there is a risk of injury and if so whether that risk can be reduced. The assessment should take into account the task, the load, the working environment and the individual's capability. The risk of injury must be reduced to the lowest level reasonably practicable.
Most employers will already have assessed the tasks employees are required to do and have adopted methods to reduce any associated manual handling problems. There may already be rules or instructions laid down, but the regulations now make an assessment and remedy a formal requirement.
Who should carry out the Assessment?
In the majority of cases employers should carry out the assessment or delegate to a member of staff within the business. Employees, their safety representatives and safety committees should be encouraged to take part in the assessment process. It may sometimes be useful to seek specialist help from outside to provide basic training to in-house assessors, or give advice where the manual handling risks are particularly difficult to assess.
How detailed will the Assessment be?
This will all depend on the type of manual handling performed. The assessor will need to look at the overall manual handling that the employee is required to perform. Significant findings of the assessment should be recorded and the records kept. The Guidance includes a filter to screen out straightforward cases and a useful checklist.
Use the following checklist for safe manual handling
- Before attempting to lift a load, assess its size and shape and obtain assistance, if required. Check there is sufficient space to make the lift and re-position the load as required.
- Stand correctly, with a straight back and your chin tucked in. Stand to the load you are going to lift. Lifting with a bent back can be four times more stressful than lifting with a straight back. Your feet should be a with one foot in front of the other facing in the intended direction of travel
- Lift with your knees bent and use your legs, not your back, as the if power.
- Make sure you have a good grip on the load before lifting and don't lose your grip once carrying.
- Don't allow the load to obstruct your field of view - if it is too large get assistance.
- Set the load down gently, again with your back straight and knees bent
In the majority of cases employers should carry out the assessment or delegate to a member of staff within the business. Employees, their safety representatives and safety committees should be encouraged to take part in the assessment process. It may sometimes be useful to seek specialist help from outside to provide basic training to in-house assessors, or give advice where the manual handling risks are particularly difficult to assess.
To help in the process of carrying out risk assessments, the HSE have recently produced some example risk assessments for a variety of businesses that can be found via this link.