Manual Handling Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992 ...

Health and Safety
Executive
Appendix 2
Assessment of manual handling risks - overview
1 The Regulations set no specific requirements such as weight limits. Instead,
they focus on the needs of the individual and set out a hierarchy of measures to
be implemented to ensure worker safety during manual handling operations. These
measures are:
(a)
(b)
(c)
avoid hazardous manual handling operations so far as is reasonably
practicable;
make a suitable and sufficient assessment of any hazardous manual handling
operations that cannot be avoided; and
reduce the risk of injury from those operations so far as is reasonably
practicable.
2 Where manual handling operations cannot be avoided, employers have a
duty to make a suitable and sufficient assessment of the risks to health. This
assessment must take into account the range of relevant factors listed in
Schedule 1 to the Regulations.
3 HSE has developed the following three aids to risk assessment:
(a)
(b)
(c)
a risk assessment filter (Appendix 3). This is often a good starting point, as
it is intended to save effort by screening out straightforward low-risk cases.
A detailed assessment of every manual handling operation would be a major
undertaking, and many handling operations, for example the occasional lifting
of a small lightweight object, will involve negligible handling risk;
risk assessment checklists (Appendix 4) for use in cases where a full
assessment is needed;
a manual handling assessment chart (MAC) (Appendix 5). This is an optional
tool, which is still under development, which can be used as part of making a
full risk assessment. In situations where it is applicable, it can help with quick
identification of high-risk activities. The MAC does not cover all of the risk
factors, and so only forms a part of the assessment process.
Factors to consider
4 The following physical risk factors are discussed in detail in the main body
of this document: the task, the load, the working environment and individual
capability. However, to ensure that all potential risk factors have been included
in the assessment, then psychosocial (work organisation) factors should also be
considered.
5 Psychosocial risk factors are things that may affect workers’ psychological
response to their work and workplace conditions (including working relationships
with supervisors and colleagues). Examples are:
(a)
(b)
(c)
high workloads;
tight deadlines;
lack of control of the work and working methods.
Manual handling Page 55 of 90