Your health and safety guide to Manual handling - WorkSafe Victoria

Your health andsafety guide toManual handlingEDITION NO. 1 JUNE 2007HAZARD GUIDE

If this Hazard Guide does not contain an up-to-date More informationsheet, please go to www.worksafe.vic.gov.au to download the PDFor contact us on 1800 136 089 to request a printed copy.There’s plenty more informationabout health and safety...www.worksafe.vic.gov.au1800 136 089

Manual handling is the biggest causeof injuries in Victorian workplaces.Each year, thousands of workers areinjured doing manual handling tasks thatare unsafe. The result can be debilitatinglong-term conditions that can severelyaffect a person’s quality of life.While most jobs involve some formof manual handling, it doesn’t haveto be dangerous.This guide will help you understand theproblem, and will explain what you needto do to make your workplace safe.

In this guideAbout the problem• What is manual handling?• What injuries can manualhandling cause?Your legal duties• The law• Information for employers• Information for employees• Information for designers,manufacturers and suppliers• Compliance and enforcementHow to comply• Consult• Find• Fix• ReviewGlossary2 HAZARD GUIDE / MANUAL HANDLING

About the problemWhat is manual handling?Manual handling means using your bodyto exert force to handle, support or restrainany object, including people or animals.It is not just lifting or carrying heavyobjects, it includes lifting, pushing, pulling,holding, lowering, throwing, carrying,packing, typing, assembling, cleaning,sorting and using tools.The term is not limited to handling heavyobjects – pruning plants, stacking itemsonto a shelf, helping a patient into abath and even using a keyboard areall examples of manual handling.Hazardous manual handling involves:• repetitive or sustained application offorce, awkward postures or movements• tasks that people would find difficultdue to the degree of force applied(high force)• exposure to sustained vibration• manual handling of live peopleor animals• manual handling of unstable loadsthat are difficult to grasp or hold.What injuries canmanual handling cause?While not all manual handling taskswill cause injury, hazardous manualhandling can lead to many seriousconditions, including:• muscle sprains and strains• back injuries• soft-tissue injuries to the wrists,arms, shoulders, neck or legs• abdominal hernias• chronic pain.Collectively, these conditions are knownas musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs).HAZARD GUIDE / MANUAL HANDLING3

Your legal dutiesThe lawOccupational Health and Safety Act 2004 (OHS Act)The OHS Act came into effect on 1 July 2005. It sets out the key principles, dutiesand rights in relation to occupational health and safety. The duties imposed by theAct cover a wide variety of circumstances, recognising the need for a duty-holder tohave flexibility in determining what needs to be done to comply.The OHS Act is based upon the following key health and safety principles:• All people – employees and the general public – should have the highest levelof protection against risks to health and safety.• Those who manage or control things that create health and safety risks in theworkplace are responsible for eliminating or reducing the risks, so far as isreasonably practicable.• Employers should be proactive in promoting health and safety in the workplace.• Information and ideas about risks and how to control them should be sharedbetween employers and employees.• Employees are entitled – and should be encouraged – to be represented in relationto health and safety issues.Occupational Health and Safety Regulations 2007 (OHS Regulations 2007)New Regulations for occupational health and safety came into effect on 1 July 2007.The manual handling part of the OHS Regulations 2007 is intended to prevent andreduce the number and severity of injuries associated with manual handling tasks.To do this, the Regulations impose specifi c legal responsibilities on employers,employees, and designers, manufacturers and suppliers for the control of risk fromhazardous manual handling.4 HAZARD GUIDE / MANUAL HANDLING

EmployersAs an employer, you have a general dutyto make your workplace safe, as well asspecific duties in relation to hazards suchas manual handling.You must identify any tasks that involvehazardous manual handling. If these taskspose a risk of musculoskeletal disorder,you must eliminate the risk.If it’s not reasonably practicable toeliminate the risk, you must reduce therisk, as far as reasonably practicable, by:• changing the workplace layout, theworkplace environment or the systemsof work• changing the objects used in the task, or• using mechanical aids.If there is still a risk after using thesemethods, you should control it byproviding information, training orinstruction.You must review (and, where necessary,revise) your risk controls if things change,if there is a report of an MSD in theworkplace, or at the request of a healthand safety representative.EmployeesYour employer is required to protectyou from manual handling injuries.At the same time, you have a generalduty to take reasonable care for your ownhealth and safety, and that of others whomay be affected by your work, and tocooperate with your employer’s effortsto make the workplace safe.This may include using manual handlingequipment properly, following workplacepolicies and procedures (e.g. using trolleys,team lifting), attending health and safetytraining, and not taking shortcuts thatcould increase manual handling risks.You can also help your employer make theworkplace safer by notifying them of anyhazardous manual handling tasks thatyou become aware of.HAZARD GUIDE / MANUAL HANDLING5

Your legal duties continuedDesigners, manufacturersand suppliersThe safe design of plant, substances,buildings and structures plays a criticalrole in reducing manual handling risksin workplaces.If you design plant, buildings or structures,or if you manufacture or supply plant orsubstances for use in a workplace, youmust ensure that your product is safe,as far as reasonably practicable.Manufacturers and suppliers must alsoprovide information on the safe use andmaintenance of their product when givingor supplying the product to someone else.Compliance andenforcementWorkSafe applies a strategy of ‘constructivecompliance’ – a combination of incentivesand deterrents – to improve workplacehealth and safety.This strategy recognises that real andsustainable improvement in workplacehealth and safety requires activeinvolvement from employers andemployees in identifying hazardsand controlling risks.WorkSafe inspectors have the primaryrole of targeting unsafe workplace activity,enforcing compliance with health andsafety laws, and providing guidance andadvice on how to comply with those laws.Further information on workplaceinspections and WorkSafe’s enforcementpolicy is available through the WorkSafeAdvisory Service (1800 136 089) or atwww.worksafe.vic.gov.au6 HAZARD GUIDE / MANUAL HANDLING

How to complyWorkSafe has a range of guidance materials to advise on the required processesand actions that duty-holders must take in order to meet their legal obligations.Compliance Codes, Health and Safety Solutions and Guidance Notes each providedetailed and specifi c advice for duty-holders seeking to comply with the OHSRegulations 2007. See also the enclosed More information sheet for a listing ofguidance materials related to Manual handling.ConsultEmployees’ expertise can make asignificant contribution to improvingworkplace health and safety.Regular, proactive consultation can helpidentify issues in the workplace and builda strong commitment to health and safetyby including all views in the decisionmakingprocess.Under the OHS Act, employers mustconsult with employees when identifyinghazardous manual handling and makingdecisions about risk control.‘Employees’ includes independentcontractors (and any employees of theindependent contractor(s)) who performwork which the employer has, or shouldhave, control over.If employees are represented by healthand safety representatives, the consultationmust involve those representatives –see Your health and safety guide toConsultation for further information.HAZARD GUIDE / MANUAL HANDLING7

How to comply continuedFindWhile not all manual handling tasks areunsafe, manual handling is hazardouswhen it involves any of the following:• repetitive or sustained force, movementor awkward posture• high force (to move or support anyobject that most people would finddifficult because of the effort it requires)• sustained vibration• handling live people or animals• handling loads that are unstable,unbalanced or diffi cult to hold.Some common examples of hazardousmanual handling tasks include:• moving large sacks of grain• using a jackhammer• sitting at a cramped desk and typingfor long periods at a time• using tin snips with grips that arewide apart• steering a heavily loaded trolleythrough a busy warehouse.Find all the tasks which have thesecharacteristics. Work out whether anyof the tasks you’ve found pose a risk.Forces, postures, movements and vibrationusually affect each other to increase therisk. For example, more force has to beexerted to pick up a box from the fl oorcompared with picking it up from abench at thigh height.The longer these tasks are done,the greater the risk.Environmental factors such as heat,cold and lighting levels can alsoincrease the risk.Unexpected movement, high forceand awkward postures.8 HAZARD GUIDE / MANUAL HANDLING

Repetitive twisting and bending.Sustained awkward posture.Exposure to sustained vibration.High force needed to grip and moveheavy sack.HAZARD GUIDE / MANUAL HANDLING9

How to comply continuedFixWork through the following list to controlmanual handling risks at your workplace.In many instances, a combination ofapproaches will result in the best solution.1. Eliminate the manual handling riskThe best option is to remove the hazardcompletely, so you should always try todo this first.Example: Get in the appropriateequipment to do the work mechanically,and train staff in its use.Eliminate high force.Eliminate stooping and bending.Electronically adjustable beds eliminateawkward postures.10 HAZARD GUIDE / MANUAL HANDLING

2. Change the workplace, the objectsused or the way the job is doneIf you can’t remove the hazard, minimisethe risk by changing the workplace layout,environment or work methods, replacingthe objects used in the task, or usingmechanical equipment or aids.Example: Provide trolleys and adjustableworkbenches and seating, break loadsinto smaller quantities or use teamlifting.Eliminate carrying.3. Provide trainingIf the other measures will not totally solvethe problem, or if they’re not suitable, youcan use information and training to showemployees how to do manual handlingtasks with least risk.Example: Train people involved inteam lifting.ReviewIt’s important to review your risk controlsregularly to ensure they are implementedcorrectly and to monitor their effectiveness.You need to review (and, if necessary,revise) your risk controls whenever anychanges are made to the workplace thatcould increase manual handling risks,such as changes to the way work is doneor to the tools or equipment used.A review is also necessary if amusculoskeletal disorder is reported,if you become aware of any newinformation about any hazardousmanual handling tasks in the workplace,or if a health and safety representativerequests one.HAZARD GUIDE / MANUAL HANDLING 11

GLOSSARYEmployee – A person employed under a contract of employment or contract of training.Employer – A person who employs one or more people under contracts of employmentor contracts of training.Hazard – A potential source of harm or injury. The potential to cause injury, illness or disease.Health and safety representative (HSR) – A member of a designated work groupelected to represent employees on matters relating to occupational health and safety.Manual handling – Any activity requiring the use of force exerted by a person to lift,push, pull, carry or otherwise move, hold or restrain any object.Musculoskeletal disorder (MSD) – An injury, illness or disease that arises in whole or in partfrom manual handling in the workplace, whether occurring suddenly or over a prolongedperiod of time.Plant – Any machinery, equipment, appliance, implement or tool; any component ofany of these things; and anything fi tted, connected or related to any of these things.Reasonably practicable – See section 20(2) of the OHS Act and the WorkSafe Position onHow WorkSafe applies the law in relation to reasonably practicable.12 HAZARD GUIDE / MANUAL HANDLING

In this seriesHazardsYour health and safety guide to asbestosYour health and safety guide to confined spacesYour health and safety guide to dangerous goodsYour health and safety guide to falls preventionYour health and safety guide to hazardous substancesYour health and safety guide to leadYour health and safety guide to manual handlingYour health and safety guide to noiseYour health and safety guide to plantIndustriesYour health and safety guide to constructionYour health and safety guide to forestryYour health and safety guide to foundriesYour health and safety guide to major hazard facilitiesYour health and safety guide to minesSubjectsYour health and safety guide to communicating across languagesYour health and safety guide to consultationYour health and safety guide to controlling OHS hazards and risksYour health and safety guide to licensing and registrationsYour health and safety guide to workplace amenities and first aidVisit www.worksafe.vic.gov.au for online guidance on all of thesetopics and more…The information presented in Your health and safety guide to manual handling is intended for general use only. It should not beviewed as a defi nitive guide to the law, and should be read in conjunction with the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004.This publication is protected by copyright. The Victorian WorkCover Authority encourages the free transfer, copying andprinting of this publication if such activities support the purposes and intent for which the publication was developed.WorkSafe Victoria is a division of the Victorian WorkCover Authority.

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