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5 Top Tips for Safe Manual Handling
Keeping Contractors Safe & Healthy: Tips for Safe Manual Handling
Did you know that sprains, strains, muscle injuries and other musculoskeletal disorders account for a whopping 43% of serious workplace injury claims?
The majority of these serious claims are due to manual handling while lifting or carrying objects. Over one third of the total number of cases for work-related injuries and illness were associated with body stressing or manual handling cases.
This also equates to a huge economic cost which is often borne by both the employee and the business. Manual handling injuries cost employers time, money, effort and resources, and take valuable and skilled staff away from their jobs. Employees suffer from financial costs, stress, pain and the complexities of medical appointments and workplace injury administration.
Manual handling injuries are bad news, however you look at it! But, a combination of education, support and the proper tools can combine to ensure lost-time injuries due to manual handling are kept to a minimum.
Here are 5 tips to help you and your teammates stay fit and healthy at work.
Our top 5 safe manual handling techniques
Understand correct lifting methods - ensure you and your team are trained in how to safely lift and carry heavy loads correctly by keeping the load close to the body and lifting with your legs, not your back
Don’t be a hero - if it’s too heavy, leave it! Don’t attempt to lift or carry loads if you think they are too heavy. This is where tools like pallet trolleys, forklifts, wheelbarrows, plasterboard trolleys and lifting slings come into the mix. Take advantage of the mechanical advantage gained from these kinds of products and tools.
Remember that pushing is generally less stressful on your body than pulling a load. If you can’t engineer out the hazard or find a different way to move something, choose the least stressful way to move it.
Does it take more than one person to lift? Take note of markings on supplies, boxes and equipment. Items marked heavy, or items that require 2 people to lift are marked that way for a reason! Grab a colleague to help you shift it.
Ensure you comply with your workplace guidelines and state workplace safety authority guidelines on how to safely manage manual handling tasks. Often a task might be eliminated completely by changing the way you work, moving the work area around, having supplies bundled in smaller more manageable quantities, or improving systems so that machines and tools do the work, not people.
What is manual handling?
Any kind of lifting, pushing, pulling, lifting or leaning can be considered manual handling. Many of these tasks appear easy to complete when there is little to no weight involved, however as soon as a bag of concrete, a heavy box, or a stuck valve is added, the body is forced to work harder with these kinds of push/pull forces, and that’s when injury most commonly occurs.
Your back is particularly vulnerable to sprain and strain type injuries, and creating a safer work area and better controls and processes can go a long way to preventing you from getting hurt.
What are musculoskeletal injuries?
Musculoskeletal injuries or disorders are caused by repetitive forces, sudden forces, awkward or sustained postures and movements and also exposure to vibration. The types of injuries caused can be both chronic or acute, and include:
- Sprains, strains and injuries to muscles, tendons and ligaments
- Back injuries
- Nerve injuries such as carpal tunnel or repetitive strain injuries
- Soft tissue injuries ie: hernias
- Joint and bone injuries
Ways to reduce manual handling injuries
Reducing manual handling risks begins with identifying the hazards in your workplace. Ask yourself if a task has to be performed at all – is there a better way? Is there an easier way to do the task, for example breaking a large load into smaller parts or making multiple trips?
Organising your work area to reduce the amount of twisting and bending required is a key factor in having a more ergonomic workspace. Make sure you take frequent breaks, especially when working on repetitive tasks. This is where support from management is key in ensuring that employees are not frowned upon for taking breaks when necessary.
And, of course, education is a must. Making safe manual handling part of regular training and toolbox talks will ensure it is front of mind with your team.
Further reading: Safe manual handling guidelines in Australia
Disclaimer: This information is provided as an introductory guide only and does not constitute professional advice. Ensure you make your own independent enquiries before deciding if a particular product is right for you. Consult the regulations and standards applicable to your area and check with your workplace health and safety representative for further information. Jaybro does not warrant the accuracy, content, completeness or suitability of the information on this site (or any site owned by the Jaybro Group) for your individual purposes.
