Courtesy – British Safety Council
Using physical force to move materials is defined as manual handling. Manually handling is known to cause accidents and injuries. It is recommended to avoid manual handling as much as possible. However, if moving things manually is necessary, then adoption of suitable controls must be mandatory.
So, what is Manual Handling? – The use of body to carry, pull, lift or push a load is called as manual handling.
What Injuries are Caused by Manual Handling? – Manual handling is known to cause minor accidents or long-term damage due to bad handling techniques in the past. Minor accidents cause cuts, hernias, inflamed tendons, ruptured discs, crushed fingers, broken bones, bruises etc. On the other hand, long term injuries can cause permanent injuries.
In order to have a planned effective manual handling procedure, these are the factors to consider.
- Nature of the task
- Weight and type of the load to be moved
- Capability and ability of the individual doing the task
- The environment activity is carried out at
In order to prevent injuries, do these things.
- Avoid – Removing the need to carry manual handling is one of the most effective methods of preventing injuries. For instance; you can consider using a trolley or lift to do the task.
- Assess – Proper assessment for manual handling tasks is important to understand the risk factors. Consider using controls that removes the risk of getting injured.
- Reduce – Consider reducing the task by reducing the lifting distance and height. You also need to consider whether two people make more sense to do the manual task.
Learn more by doing manual handling awareness course.