Manual handling is the act of lifting or moving loads that is carried out manually by workers. These activities can include lifting, pulling, pushing, holding, stacking of heavy loads, such as boxes.
Despite its apparent simplicity, manual handling accounts for over 30% of workplace injuries, which might come as a surprise. The reason for this high number of injuries is often attributed to complacency, or the failure to anticipate anything going wrong when lifting objects.
Manual Handling Injuries
There are many risks of manual handling. Here are a few examples of manual handling injuries that can result from incorrectly picking up heavy loads.
Back Injury
Regarding manual handling, the most vulnerable area of your body is your back, especially if you lack proper lifting technique or are attempting to lift something too heavy for your capacity.
Being cautious about your back is essential not only during lifting but also while carrying, as improper posture can quickly lead to back damage. Stooping or twisting, for example, increases the risk of injury to your back, including spinal injuries and slipped discs.
Hand Injuries
During various manual handling tasks such as lifting, carrying, pushing, or pulling, you typically rely on your hands for gripping. However, this can pose its own hazards depending on the nature of the objects you handle. For instance, if the load is hot, it might cause burns or scalds to your skin, and if it has sharp edges, there's a risk of getting cut.
Hand injuries may not always result from direct contact with the load; the way you position them also matters. When dealing with heavy loads, failing to remove your fingers from underneath during placement could lead to bruising or even broken bones. Additionally, there's potential for fingers to become trapped between the load and nearby obstacles like containers or walls, especially during team lifts involving other individuals moving the load.
Strains and Sprains
Have you ever experienced the frustration of picking up an object only to realise it was heavier or more challenging to grip than expected? Or perhaps, as time passed, the burden became too much to bear? You're not alone in this experience. However, it's important to be cautious, as overextending your muscles beyond their limits can result in inflammation, bruising, and discomfort.
Muscular strains and sprains frequently occur during manual handling tasks, particularly affecting the back, arms, or wrists. Therefore, it's crucial to be mindful of these risks and handle objects with proper care and technique to avoid unnecessary strain and potential injuries.
Hernias
Continuously subjecting the abdomen to strain can lead to hernias, and it's important to note that most hernias require surgical intervention for improvement. Overexerting yourself by attempting to lift loads beyond your capacity can increase the likelihood of developing a hernia, and this risk tends to be higher as you age.
To ensure safety during manual handling tasks, it’s crucial to carefully assess the activity, taking into account both the load and the individual involved. When necessary, provide appropriate lifting aids to reduce the risk of hernias and other potential injuries.
Foot Injuries
Even though lifting typically involves hands, foot injuries remain among the seven types of manual handling injuries. Fractures often affect the foot when handling leads to dropping the load, especially if proper protective footwear is not worn.
Certain actions during manual handling, such as lifting heavy loads, carelessly dropping them from height instead of lowering them cautiously, or failing to maintain a secure grip, can result in crushing, bruising, or even broken bones in the feet. Therefore, it's crucial to prioritise safety measures and wear appropriate footwear to reduce the risk of foot injuries.
How to Prevent Manual Handling Injuries
In order to prevent manual handling injuries, follow these essential steps:
- Training and Education: Provide comprehensive training to employees on proper lifting techniques, hazard identification, and the use of lifting aids and equipment.
- Risk Assessment: Regularly assess manual handling tasks to identify potential hazards and implement control measures to reduce risks.
- Lifting Aids and Equipment: Encourage the use of lifting aids, such as trolleys and forklifts, to minimise physical strain.
- Team Lifts: Promote teamwork for heavy loads and ensure clear communication among team members.
- Proper Lifting Technique: Emphasise bending the knees, maintaining a straight back, and using leg muscles during lifting.
- Weight Limits: Establish and communicate weight limits for tasks to prevent overexertion.
- Cautionary and Safety Signs: Lifting safety signs will help you to comply with the Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992 (and the amendments in 2002), which refer to the lifting, lowering, carrying, pushing, pulling, or supporting of heavy loads.
Protect Your Workers with Label Source
Here at Label Source, we offer a range manual handling safety signs and warning labels including signs that remind your workers to lift loads correctly, stack their loads correctly to prevent boxes falling, and to gently remind people to ask for help if they are tasked with moving a heavy load.
Not only do we produce safety signs, but we also supply safety guides. These are more detailed signs talking through how to prevent injury by correctly lifting loads, and the manual handling regulations, so in the event your employee has forgotten how to lift correctly, they can refer to these guides.
