Manual handling

Musculoskeletal disorders (also known as MSDs), including back pain and RSI (see Chapter 8), have consistently been the most commonly reported type of work-related illness. And while the HSE reports that there has generally been a downward trend in the prevalence rate of work-related MSDs since 2001-02, the latest year (2013-14) has a statistically significantly higher rate than in 2011-12.

The latest estimates from the Labour Force Survey (LFS) also show:

• the total number of MSD cases in 2013-14 was 526,000 out of a total 1,241 000 for all work-related illnesses;

• the number of new cases of MSDs in 2013-14 was 184,000, up from 141,000 in 2011-12;

• the total number of working days lost due to MSDs in 2013-14 was 8.3 million, an average of 15.9 days per case of MSDs.

• the sectors with higher rates of MSDs include specialised construction, agriculture, postal and courier and health care; and

• people working in building trades, nurses, personal care and skilled agriculture had high rates of MSDs.

The Manual Handling Operations Regulations

The Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992 (MHOR) apply wherever manual handling operations are carried out — that is, physical lifting, carrying or moving any load. There are no maximum weight limits set for loads, although the HSE publishes advice on the sort of weights that are likely to cause injuries. These can be found in Appendix 3 of its guidance on the regulations at: www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/priced/l23.pdf

Instead of imposing maximum weight limits, the regulations require a risk assessment of the task, load and working environment. Employers are required to avoid hazardous manual handling operations (so far as reasonably practicable) by:

• redesigning the task to avoid moving the load or by automating or mechanising the process;

• making a risk assessment of operations that cannot be avoided;

• reducing the risk of injury to as low as reasonably practicable, giving particular consideration to providing mechanical assistance; and

• providing training and information for employees, including general indications and, where reasonably practicable, specific information about the load.

Safety reps have a right to information about new processes, including proposed workplace layouts. By being involved at the design stage, they have the chance to eliminate problems before a new machine, process or work system is installed. If manual handling cannot be eliminated, the main aim should be to cut the weight of loads and ensure that they are handled less often.

There may be a few tasks that cannot be altered and involve difficult lifting problems. In these cases, workers who are required to do them should be physically suited and specially trained.

Consultation with safety reps

HSE guidance emphasises the importance of consultation with safety reps “because they know at first hand the risks in the workplace and can offer practical solutions to controlling them”. Safety reps will find the appendices in the guidance particularly useful. They include a risk assessment filter checklist and a manual handling assessment chart. There are also checklists on lifting and carrying, and pushing and pulling, with some examples indicating the degree of detail necessary for a proper assessment.

HSE MSD Toolkit

The HSE has developed a collection of tools to help identify common risk factors covering manual handling operations including lifting and carrying, pushing and pulling and repetitive tasks. These have been designed to help people carrying out risk assessments to break down tasks, identify elements that could pose a risk to workers and evaluate potential solutions or improvements.

The Manual Handling Assessment Chart (MAC Tool)

The MAC Tool helps to identify high-risk manual handling activities in workplaces and is aimed at employers, employees and safety reps. The HSE makes clear that while using the MAC will help with the initial screening of possible high risk manual handling activities within the workplace, it is “not appropriate for all manual handling operations, and so may not comprise a full “suitable and sufficient” risk assessment if relied on alone. A risk assessment will normally need to take account of additional factors such as an individual’s ability to carry out the task e.g. whether they have any health problems or need for special information or training”.

The MAC incorporates a numerical and a colour coding score system (green: low level of risk, amber: medium level of risk: red high level of risk, and purple: very high level of risk) to highlight high risk manual handling tasks. There are three types of assessment that can be carried out with the MAC: lifting operations, carrying operations and team handling operations.

The charts and information on how to use them can be downloaded from the HSE website at: www.hse.gov.uk/msd/mac

The Assessment of Repetitive Tasks (ART) Tool

The ART Tool is designed to help assess tasks that require repetitive movement of the arms and hands. It assists in carrying out a risk assessment of some of the common risk factors in repetitive work that contribute to the development of Upper Limb Disorders (ULDs). The HSE says it is intended for people with responsibility for the design, assessment, management, and inspection of repetitive work typically found in assembly, production, processing, packaging, packing and sorting work, as well as work involving regular use of hand tools. It also makes clear that it is not designed for Display Screen Equipment (DSE) risk assessments.

The ART Tool uses a numerical score and a “traffic light” approach to indicate the level of risk for twelve factors, grouped into four stages:

• frequency and repetition of movements;

• force;

• awkward postures of the neck, back, arm, wrist and hand; and

• additional factors, including breaks and duration.

The factors are presented on a flow chart, which leads the person carrying out the risk assessment, step-by-step, to evaluate and grade the degree of risk. The Art Tool is supported by an assessment guide, providing instruction to help score the repetitive task being observed and a worksheet to record the assessment. However, the HSE says that training is recommended to ensure that assessors use the ART Tool reliably and appropriately.

The ART Tool can be downloaded from the HSE website at: www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/indg438.pdf

The Push/Pull Tool

The Push/Pull Tool can be used to analyse tasks that involve pushing or pulling items whether they have been loaded onto a trolley or mechanical aid or are being pushed or pulled across a surface. It works on an assessment of high, medium or low risk rather than a scoring system.

The HSE sets out that while pushing and pulling of loads is a way of avoiding manual lifting and carrying of objects, such as by putting the load on a trolley, there may still be a risk of other MSDs, which need to be considered and eliminated or reduced.

More information on risk assessing tasks that involve pushing or pulling can be found on the HSE website at: www.hse.gov.uk/msd/pushpull