Manual Handling

Ian Stone
Health and
Safety Advisor
 Aims and Objectives

Provide sufficient
understanding
and knowledge of
Manual Handling,
the risks
involved and the
control measures
available.
 How?
• Theory
• Discussion
• Practical
Demonstrations
 What Is Manual Handling?
• Any transporting or supporting of a
load by hand or bodily force
• This includes:
• Lifting, putting down, pushing, pulling,
carrying or moving
• This human effort can be applied
indirectly
 What Is Manual Handling?
• Such as hauling on a rope
• Pulling a lever
• Applying a force to manipulate a load
supported on a
• Spade
• Fork
• or similar implement
 Manual Handling Facts
•Low back pain occurs with the same frequency in
people with sedentary occupations as those in
heavy labour
•Musculo-skeletal disorders arising from work
situations have an estimated annual cost in the
region of £3 billion and account for 30 million lost
work days each year
•Smokers are more likely to suffer back pain than
non-smokers
 Manual Handling Facts
• Being overweight increases the likelihood
of back pain
• Age doesn’t necessarily make any
difference, bad backs affect people of all
ages
• Poor handling techniques when you are
young will contribute to problems in later
life
• Those who have suffered from a back
injury are three times more likely to suffer
injury again
Reasons for Manual Handling
Training
•Reduce lost working days
through injury
•The Law
•Looking after one of the most
important parts of the body
Kinds of Accident Causing Injury
1996/97 From HSE

Machinery
Other 4.5%
12.6%

Handling
Falls 36.5%
Handling
6.9%
Struck by
Trips
Falls
Other
Machinery
Trips
19.1%

Struck by
20.4%
 Types of injuries caused by
handling accidents 1996/97 From HSE
Superficial
5.3%

Other
3.1%

Fracture
3.3%

Laceration
8.8%
Sprain/Strain
Contusion Contusion
6.4% Laceration
Fracture
Other
Superficial

Sprain/Strain
73.1%
 Sites of injuries caused by
handling 1996/97 From HSE

Other
Low er Limb
3.3%
7.7%

Finger/Thumb
14.3% Back
Rest of Torso
Back
Arm
49.3%
Hand/Wrist
Finger/Thumb

Hand/Wrist Low er Limb

8.5% Other

Arm
10.3%
Rest of Torso
6.6%
The Law & Manual Handling

•The Health and Safety at Work etc Act

1974 (HASAWA)
•The Management of Health and Safety
at Work Regulations 1999 (MHSWA)
•The Manual Handling Operations
Regulations 1992
The Law & Manual Handling
HASAWA:
General duty to ensure the health,
safety and welfare at work of their
employees. In particular, they have a
duty to ensure the safe use, handling,
storage and transport of articles and
substances so far as is reasonably
practicable.
The Law & Manual Handling

MHSWR:
Regulation 3(1) requires employers to
risk assess work activities. This risk
assessment should identify whether
there is a risk of injury from manual
handling operations in the workplace.
The Law & Manual Handling
The Manual Handling Operations
Regulations 1992:
These regulations are based on an
ergonomic approach to preventing
manual handling injuries. This involves
fitting the job to the worker, taking
into account anatomy, physiology and
psychology.
The Law & Manual Handling

Whereas previous legislation set limits

on the weight of loads that can be
lifted, these regulations require a
number of relevant factors to be
taken into consideration:
 The Law & Manual Handling

These are known as TILE:

Task
Individual Capability
Load
Environment
 Relevant Factors
Task:
What is it about the way that we organise the task which might
affect our health and safety?
Individual Capabilities:
What is it about the people who are doing the job that might
affect their health and safety?
Load:
What is it about the load which might affect our health and
safety?
Environment:
What is it about the place which might affect our health and
safety?
 The Law & Manual Handling
These regulations set out a hierarchy of
measures employers should work through
to prevent or reduce the likelihood of
injury:
• Avoid manual handling
• Assess the task
• Reduce the risk
• Monitor the task
• Inform and train staff on residual risks
 Avoid Manual Handling
Eliminate:
• By design- Reduce heavy structural
materials, layout of workplace to minimise
manual handling operations
• Automation/mechanisation:- Cranes, hoists,
forklift trucks, sack trolleys etc
• Management- Delivery of heavy articles to
point of use, storing heaviest materials at
waist level
Main Types of Injury

•Traumatic:Strain/Sprain,
Slipped Disc

•Repetitive:Effects overtime,
Arthritis
Cumulative Manual Handling
Injuries
•Back Pain
•Neck
•Shoulders
•Knees
•Feet
•Wrist/Elbows
•Hernia
•Overall Fatigue
•Many Others
 Work Related Upper Limb
Disorders (WRULD)
Affects shoulders, arms and wrists
Main Causes:
• Excessive force
• Excessive repetition
• Lack of recovery time or rest
• Poor static posture
• Stress
• Individual susceptibility
 Causes of Back Pain
Not just caused by heavy work and heavy
weights
Can be due to:
•Poor static posture
•Sitting too long in one position
•Sudden movement
•Vibration during handling
•Psychological stress
 INJURIES CAUSED BY
MANUAL HANDLING ARE
RARELY FATAL, BUT….

Can cause permanent disability

The Spine
Spine - 3 main
functions.
To protect the
spinal cord

To allow movement.

To support the

upper body.
The Structure & Function of
the Spine
•Provides a flexible connection between the upper
and lower half of the body
•Encloses and protects the spinal cord
•Is involved in most movements of the trunk and
limbs by providing key attachment points for
muscles
•Has a very significant function in weight bearing
but only with correct posture
•Is very prone to injury if used incorrectly
 The Human Spine(backbone,
spinal column)
Consists of a column of small bones
each called a VERTEBRA
• If numbered 1-33 (starting with 1
nearest the skull):
• 1-7 are known as “CERVICAL
VERTABRAE”
• 8-19 are known as “THORACIC
VERTABRAE”
 The Human Spine(backbone,
spinal column)
• 20-24 are known as “LUMBAR
VERTABRAE”
• 25-30 Fused Vertebrae known as
“SACRUM”
• 30-33 Fused Vertebrae known as
“COCCYX”
The Human Spine(backbone,
spinal column)
 The Spine

Each muscle in the back can move 1.25 cm

• Multiply this movement by 33 vertebrae
and this allows us to bend
•The body is 20mm shorter at the end of
the day than at the start
 The Spine
• Each vertebrae is separated by a gel
like substance, the disc. These discs
bend and stretch as we move
 The Spinal Cord
The Spine protects the spinal cord. The
spinal cord and the nervous system
controls all systems in the body. As the
cord descends from the brain nerves peel
away from the cord at each vertebrae,
leading to all other parts of the body.
Damage to the cord will result in the
blockage of signals from the brain to the
area affected.
The Spinal Cord
The Nerves
 Slipped Disc
• A slipped disc is also called a “herniated
or prolapsed” disc
• It is a bulge in the wall of one of the
discs between the vertebrae pressing
onto the nerve
 Slipped Disc
• Main symptom is sciatica (pain in legs, back
and buttocks)
• Other damage often occurs at the same
time, such as muscles strain and tears
Treatment:
• Minimum stress to the spine
• Correct posture
• Time to heal
 Forces
1kg Weight close to the body
exerts 10kg force onto muscles
of the back (1:10)
1kg Weight held at arms length
exerts 100kg force onto the
muscles of the back (1:100)
How to Lift
1.Stop and Think
2.Place the feet
3.Get a Firm Grip
4.Don’t Jerk
5.Move the Feet, Keep Close
to the Load
6.Put down, Then adjust
 Lifting and Lowering Limits
Guidance for tasks performed less than 30 per hour
 Lifting and Lowering
Reductions
• Stooping:
• 25% for 20°
• 35% for 45 °
• 50% for 90 °
 Lifting and Lowering
Reductions
• Twisting:
• 10% for 30°
• 15% for 60 °
• 20% for 90 °
 Lifting and Lowering
Reductions
• Guidelines for tasks more than 30 per
hour:
• Reduce 30% for once/twice per man
• 50% for five-eight per man
• 80% for 12 per man
 Lifting and Lowering
Reductions
• Carrying: Max 10m without a rest
• Pushing/Pulling: Max starting/stooping
force 250 Newton's (25kg) 16kg for women
• Max force for keeping load in motion 100
Newton's (10kg) 7kg for women
• Seated: Max figure (close to body &
between work surface and shoulder height)
5kg, 3kg for women
Handling while Seated
 Practical
Demonstrations
 Manual Handling Principles
• Stay balanced
• Keeping your centre of gravity close to the
load’s centre of gravity
• Bending from the knees
• Keeping the back straight, and head up
• Staying compact when pushing
• Moving the feet to turn, not the body
• Moving smoothly, particularly when setting
loads down
 Important
• Knowledge and training alone will not
guarantee safe handling
• A risk assessment needs to be
undertaken
• Avoid if possible
• Know your own limits
• Put training into action at work as
well as home
REMEMBER
PREVENTION
IS
BETTER
THAN
CURE
Manual Handling
Project
And Finally
 Hurt at Work
• You've carefully thought out all the
angles.
• You've done it a thousand times.
• It comes naturally to you.
• You know what you're doing, its what
you've been trained to do your whole life.
• Nothing could possibly go wrong, right ?
Think Again!
No beavers were actually injured
during the generation of this
PowerPoint presentation!