Hazard Guidelines

Manual Handling

• Overview
• Guidelines
• Responsibilities
• Contact
• Resources

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Overview

Manual handling refers to any activity which requires a person to use force to lift, lower, push, pull, carry or otherwise move, hold or restrain any object, person or animal.

 

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Guidelines

Some activities will be seen as obvious manual handling activities or tasks.  Others are less obvious perhaps because the activity only takes place once or twice a year. Whilst conducting workplace inspections look out for tasks that involve any of the manual handling activities described above.  Those activities or tasks that involve lifting and moving furniture, moving equipment, pushing loaded trolleys around campus or handling large books and files on a regular basis should all have a risk assessment attached to them.   In order to reduce the risk of manual handling injuries in your work area, first consider how it might be possible to eliminate the manual handling task(s) by changing the equipment or materials in use.

If this is not possible, reduce the risk by:

• changing the flow of jobs to minimise the amount of handling involved
• altering the layout of work areas to avoid twisting, bending or excessive reach
• reorganising storage areas so that heavier and frequently used items are stored between shoulder and knee height
• using trolleys or other suitable equipment to move heavy or awkward items
• maintaining and regularly checking all equipment used for manual handling tasks
• planning the movement of large items before starting the move. This might include clearing a path, checking the route for ramps, agreeing how many people are required for safe handling and roles/timing before the exercise begins etc.
• providing information and training on safe work practices

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Responsibilities

Supervisors have a responsibility to:

• identify areas where there is a risk of injuries arising from tasks involving manual handling tasks
• conduct risk assessments and take action to minimise those risks
• consult staff in this process
• ensure equipment is maintained and systems of work are safe
• encourage staff to attend training/information sessions on health and safety matters (e.g. manual handling training, office safety awareness sessions)

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Contact

For assistance with identifying and controlling manual handling risks or for further information, contact Safety & Wellbeing on extension 4540.

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Resources