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Moving & Handling Training��Health, Safety and Compliance

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What is Manual Handling

The terms Manual Handling refers to the ‘Transporting or supporting of a load by hand or bodily force’.

It includes

Lifting
Lowering (putting down)
Pushing
Pulling
Carrying or moving loads

All of the above you will be doing at some point during the time you have been employed to undertake.

What sort of manual handling activities will you be undertaking?

MH activities taken for granted – everyone can lift and move things – but more to it than that – incorrect moving techniques and the need to consider other factors that increase the risk of injuries occurring due to MH.

The University as your employer has a legal duty under H&S legislation

Health & Safety at Work Act 1974 – to ensure the health, safety and welfare at work of all his employees.

Employees have responsibilities as well under the H&S Act:

Take reasonable care of your own H&S and that of others who may be affected by your actions

Co-operate with the provisions put in place by your employer – Risk Assessments and measures put in place to control the risks/Not misuse any provided equipment meant to reduce the risk to H&S

Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992 - Every employer shall so far as is reasonably practicable, avoid the need for his employees to undertake any manual handling operations at work which involve a risk of their being injured or where it is not reasonably practicable to avoid make a suitable and sufficient assessment of the manual handling operations and take appropriate steps to reduce the risk of injury. –this awareness and training forms part of that as does the assessment of the risks and provision of mechanical aids to assist you with the manual handling task.

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Increased Risk Factors

Awkward Postures

Repetition (duration and frequency)

Force (increase intensity)

Existing Injury/medical conditions

The risks from manual handling are increased with:

Awkward Postures:

Awkward postures are associated with lower back disorders. (Twisting/turning/bending/crouching)

Repetitive movements: this includes the duration of the activity and how often (frequency) it is carried out.

Overly repetitive tasks can lead to muscle exhaustion and/or injury, repetition can increase the risks of injury even when the loads being moved are light.

Force (increased intensity)–

Physical work involving forces to lift/ move heavy objects – the heavier the object the more force required.

Forceful movements can increase the risk of injury e.g Pushing/pulling – initially getting a load moving, once the load is moving not as much force is required but stopping and starting will repeatedly require increased force.

Use of mechanical aids – need to ensure that using MA do not introduce other risks such as overloading the MA and increasing the force required to achieve the task.

Existing injury

Existing injury can be aggravated or made worse by continuing to do lifting and moving activities.

Medical conditions that may increase risks from MH e.g Ashma may reduce someone's ability to carry out strenuous task and increase the risk if the using incorrect techniques that may increase the risk of injury.

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Injuries

Musculoskeletal disorders (MSD’s)

Back
Lower Limb disorders (hips, thigh, calf, ankles and feet)
Upper limb disorders (neck, shoulders, arms, wrists, hands and fingers)

Slips, Trips and Fall Injuries

Any accident, injuries and near misses need to be reported as soon as possible to a member of University staff (line manager, first aider, or member of security) so that the University incident reporting from can be completed and actions taken to prevent a reoccurrence.

In terms of workplace injuries that are attributed to manual handling musculoskeletal injuries of the back, lower limbs and upper limbs contribute to millions of lost working days (second only behind stress) and is the second most common accident category behind slips trips and falls injuries.

Musculoskeletal disorders – Covers any injury that affects the bones, muscles, ligaments, nerves, or tendons resulting in pain are considered musculoskeletal injuries.

We talk about Musculoskeletal disorders in terms of:

Upper limbs e.g. shoulders, neck, arms, wrists (upper limb disorders),

Lower limbs e.g. hips, legs and toes (lower limb disorders)

Back.

Musculoskeletal disorders involve a range of symptoms that usually develop over time.

When it comes to manual handling, your back is considered the weakest part of your body.

Especially if you don't have good lifting technique (we will go over later) Or if what you are lifting is simply too heavy for your body to handle (know your limitations and do not try to lift beyond your capabilities.

But it's not just during lifting that can cause back injury.

When you are carrying a load over the distance required to be moved, poor posture can also damage your back. Stooping, leaning back or twisting.

You need to ensure that you are holding the load close to your body Also lifting something that was too heavy or harder to grip and handle than you first realised causing you to try and change position whilst still carrying all make your back more vulnerable to injury.

Lower limb disorders –

These disorders are more common in tasks at work that involve repetitive kneeling and/or squatting

Additional strain can be placed on knees when lifting occurs when we do not engage the correct muscles in the lifting action.

Foot Injuries – Fractures that occur due to MH is normally to the foot through dropping of the load either accidentally due to not getting a good grip or muscular fatigue or by dropping the load from height rather than carefully lowering. Can lead to crushing bruising or broken bones of the feet.

Upper limb disorders

Upper limb disorders are more common in tasks at work that involve: prolonged repetitive work, particularly using the same hand or arm action, for a long time without suitable rest breaks.

Hand Injuries – most MH activities require you to grip with your hand (whether it be lifting or carrying or pushing pulling a load) hand injuries can be from the load(hot/cold/sharp edges etc). Hand injuries can also occur when hands get trapped when moving items or on obstacles when moving (walls/doors).

Slips, Trips and Fall Injuries – When carrying a load some of your visibility may be blocked (especially to ground level) meaning you may not see a trailing wire or notice that your shoelace has come undone. Also when you trip your hands are not free to break your fall or use to hold onto something to prevent the fall.– Important to assess the environment and plan the move before the lift begins.

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Considerations when assessing the risk of manual handling operations - TILEO

The Task
The Individual
The Load
The Environment
Other Factors

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TASK

Lifting, Carrying, Pulling, Pushing,
Holding or manipulating loads away from the body
Twisting -stooping or reaching upwards
Excessive lifting or lowering distances
Excessive carrying distances
Strenuous pushing or pulling requiring excessive force
Risks of sudden movement of the load
Repetition (frequency and duration), prolonged physical effort
Time constraints for completion of task
Insufficient rest or recovery time or a process that imposes a set rate of work

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INDIVIDUAL�

Physical Ability & Fitness
Require unusual capability, eg above average strength , agility, height?
Age - Knowledge and Experience - Competency
Health problem or learning/physical disability?
New or expectant mothers?
New or young workers?

Is specific information or training required to enable the task to be performed safely ?

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LOAD

Heavy or bulky
Difficult to grasp - texture of container, shape of container
Unstable loads - Awkwardly stacked/stored
Contents that may have unpredictably movement
Harmful, eg sharp or hot/cold
Too large to see over?

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ENVIRONMENT

Restrictions that restrict good posture
Bumpy, obstructed or slippery floors
Variations in floor levels, uneven flooring, slopes
Variation in temperature and humidity - hot/cold/humid conditions
Gusts of wind or other strong air movements or weather conditions
Poor lighting conditions
Restrictions on movements from clothes or personal

A poor working environment can influence the likelihood of MSDs from MH

Can:

obstructions be removed to allow free movement?

Avoid slippery surfaces, report flooring that could create a hazard and spillages that have occured

Avoid stairs/steps and steep ramps? - can shallow ramps be installed to assist movement

Headroom - avoid manual handling in areas that have a height restriction and bending and/or stooping whilst moving loads, may cause head injury if stand up at wrong point in the lift

hot and cold conditions may need extra rest breaks or provision of additional clothing and/or PPE (gloves etc)

improve lighting (able to see hazards or reduce lighting (glare) that may cause you to not see a hazard)

Noise – unable to communicate for safe 2 person lifts

Other activites in area that need to be avoided – planning of time to do the tasks – not at busy times

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OTHER FACTORS

PPE/Clothing
Suitable handling aids equipment,
Psychosocial Factors – High Workload, Tight Deadlines
Work Organisational factors

Is movement or posture hindered by personal protective equipment or by clothing

If PPE is required, Does it hinder our movements in any way?

Ensure any PPE we are wearing is appropriate to the task and does not create any other hazards such as a trip hazard, shoes too big

Gloves to increase grip – but need to fit correctly

Ensure that the equipment provided does not increase the risk of MH in other ways – equipment either unsuitable or encourages the user to load up making it heavy and increasing pushing and pulling against a force.

There are going to be lots of times when you are under a lot of pressure and you have strict deadlines to meet which may encourage us to get things done as quickly as possible rather than as safely as possible. Take your time and always think about what you are doing and what affect it would have on your wellbeing

Work organised factors - poor work organisation (including workload, and lack of breaks) can increase the risks of MSDs from MH

do workers feel the demands of the work are excessive?

is there poor communication between managers and workers?

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Efficient Movement & Lifting Principles

Dynamic stable base
Flexed knees and hips
Natural curves
Secure hold
Close to load
Use of head

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Adopting a Stable Base

Feet about shoulder width apart
Preferable one leg slightly forward of the other to maintain balance and stability (alongside the load, if it is on the ground)
Try to stand close enough to the loads to have the centre of the weight of the load as close to the body as possible
Be prepared to move the feet during the lift to maintain a stable and balanced posture
Flexed knees and hips in a relaxed stance will enable fluent movement
Face direction of travel

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Moderate Flexion of the Back

Updated Guidance: Moderate spinal flexion (slight bending of the back), hips and knees at the start of the lift is preferable to stopping or fully flexing the hips and knees (full/deep squatting).

Flexed Knees and Hips: A relaxed stance that will enable fluent movement.
Maintain the natural curve in the back
Slight bend forward
No over bending or twisting
Keep shoulders level and facing in the same direction

as our hips

Keep load close, secure hold
Use of Head

HSE L23 Guidance on manual Handling

Moderate Flexion is now the preferable method to fully flexing the hips and knees.

Natural Curves: Keeping the natural curve in the back. Slight bending forward, No over bending or twisting. Avoid twisting your back or leaning sideways especially while your back is bent or during the lift. Keep your shoulders level and facing in the same direction as your hips. Turning by moving your feet is better than twisting and lifting at the same time.

Where possible hug the load as close as possible to the body. This may be better than gripping it tightly only with the hands

Close to Load: The risk of injury increases the further the load is away from the body. Try to keep the load as close to your body and waist for as long as possible while lifting. Keep the heaviest side of the load next to your body. If you can't get close to the load, try to slide it towards your body before you try to lift it.

Secure Hold: Use palm as well as fingers for grip. Move smoothly. Do not jerk or snatch the load as this can make it harder to keep control and can increase the risk of injury. fluid movement all part working together - avoid straightening back first or legs fist

Move smoothly. Do not jerk or snatch the load as this can make it harder to keep control and can increase the risk of injury. Fluid movement all part working together - avoid straightening back first or legs fist

Use of Head: Keep your head up when handling. Look ahead not down at the load once it is held securely. Raising the head allows the spine to form its natural curves and raises the chest and conditions the shoulders for more efficient arm action.

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Positioning of Load

Don't lift or handle more than you can easily manage. There is a difference between what people are able to lift and what they can safely lift. If in doubt, seek advice or get help.

May need to put down, then adjust. If you need to precisely position the load, put it down first, then slide it into the desired position.

Emphasising again:

Close to Load: The risk of injury increases the further the load is away from the body.

Try to keep the load as close to your body and waist for as long as possible while lifting.

Keep the heaviest side of the load next to your body.

Keep arms within boundary formed by legs, keep elbows close by side

If you can't get close to the load, try to slide it towards your body before you try to lift it.

Secure Hold: Use palm as well as fingers for grip.

Move smoothly. Do not jerk or snatch.

Use of Head: Keep your head up when handling. Look ahead not down at the load once it is held securely. stability without stiffness.

Lowering the load:

Lower slowly, ensure flexion in back , hips, knees the same as when lifting (in reverse)

Move hands to avoid crushing or trapping

Put down and then adjust the position of the load to the desired position rather than trying to put in exact position and getting into awkward positions to do this.

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Mechanical Aids

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Trolley Tags

The University has implemented a trolley tagging procedure.

More information can be found here: Trolley Tags
Trolley tags are available from the Health and Safety Office
Trolley tags should provide information on inspections to help the user determine if the trolley is in a suitable condition.
If you are concerned about the condition of any equipment, inform you line manager or contact Health, Safety and Compliance (hsservicedesk@port.ac.uk).

Trolley tags same process as for Ladder tagging for any working at height equipment to ensure that there is system in place to maintained equipment in good working order.

When the equipment has been selected, RA completed and safe systems of work were required implemented the ongoing maintenance in line with the RA needs to be recorded as an auditable trail and to demonstrate controls to ensure the equipment has not deteriorated and remains safe for use and in good working order and that the strength and stability remains adequate for the task.

Webpages – print of resources to show

Registration and Record of Inspection form

Points to look for during inspection (Wheels/Frame/shelves)

– also refer to any manufacturers guidance

Also on website a flow chart for considerations when selecting equipment

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Pushing and Pulling

Initial push or pull force to start an object moving higher than the force to keep an object moving
Positioning of hands on the load
Stability of the load/Stacking
Ability to see over the load/clear vision
Length of route

Most pushing and pulling in the workplace is introduced as a way of reducing the effort required for manual handling.

However, although pushing or pulling activities do usually allow larger loads to be handled safely, they can also be harmful.

Uncontrolled sliding or rolling, particularly of large or heavy loads, may introduce other risks of injury.

Initial force higher than that to keep it moving – planning to minimise the amount of times stop/start - Avoid frequent starting, stopping and manoeuvring, as well as jerky movements and high sustained forces

Positioning of hands - Make sure the hands are not applied to the load much below waist height or above shoulder height. . Being able to adopt a comfortable, stable posture is important, as is avoiding twisted or bent postures

Route

Multiple short journey rather than one demanding one

Flooring – stable, suitable for the wheels

Door opening – crushing and trapping of fingers

Load not too bulky for the route or equipment being used;

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Team Lifting

Reduce risk to a single handler
Capabilities as the limiting factor
Work with someone of similar height were possible
Lift at the same time
Move smoothly and together
Everyone knows that they are to do
One person coordinating the lift
Enough handholds
Space to enables all team to position themselves correctly

When manual handling takes is beyond that which can be safely carried out by one person and the use of a mechanical aid is not possible /impractical

Effective way of moving an item when only a short distance needing to be moved

Reduce Risk

Due to weight

Size of box even if not heavy

Capacity

Limited to the person able to lift the least – especially for a two person lift

The load a team can handle safely can be less than the sum of the loads that the individual team members could cope with when working alone. As an approximate guide, using 85% of the total of individual capabilities will allow a safety margin and can be applied to teams of different sizes

Similar heights

Infrequent takes or one-off lifts increased risk as less likely team members will be similar

More likely to be whoever is available

Unless planned so ensure as close match as possible

Team lifts Importance of:

Everyone knowing their role and working together

Proportion of load unlikely to be even for each member especially in awkward shaped objects that are unevenly loaded (heavier at some points)

Becomes even more if slopping or uneven ground as one person can find themselves supporting most of the weight.

Position so that the stronger person lifts the heavier part or positioned to support heavier end (ensuing it is not outside of their capabilities)

Ability to be able to safely change grip ,hand holds if required

Planning for team lifts becomes more complex the larger the team required

Team of more than 4 unlikely to work successfully unless very carefully managed.

Other risk to consider in team lift

Amount of suitable hand holds

Enough space for all team to be able to get in close enough and in position to enable correct lifting techniques

If the lift requires the load to be handled in the chest region.

Any language barriers

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Questions

Legislation
Risk factors and Injuries
Consideration before undertaking manual handling
Efficient Movement & Lifting Principles

Training Session Summary