In its most basic form, manual handling is the act of transporting or holding a load with your hands or body force. This could mean lifting, dropping, pushing, pulling, carrying or moving the load. For safety courses including PASMA Courses, visit https://globalflt.com/services/pasma-courses/
It may seem that manual handling is only important for those roles that involve physical work, like those in factories or manufacturing. This is not true. In most jobs, you’ll need to perform some manual work.
Manual handling legislation
The Manual Handling Operations Regulations (1992) was developed to protect workers and ensure they are at the least risk of injury.
The legislation contains a list of duties that both employers and workers must fulfill. It also includes a set of regulations and controls, which should be adhered to in order to ensure everyone’s safety.
Basic principles for safe handling and moving
There are five principles you should always follow when moving or handling any item in the workplace. These principles will help you to move or lift anything in your workplace in the safest way possible. They also ensure that you or others around you have the least chance of getting injured.
You should always think about the load before you start. You will become more familiar with these “five P’s” the more you practise them. It may become second nature to lift anything at work.
First, you should always plan your lifting. It is a very important step, but we often skip it. Plan out your entire route before you lift or push an object. It is important to ensure that your path is clear, and that it will be clear when you reach the end.
The next thing to consider is your position. This is crucial. Always approach the load with your feet at shoulder-width apart. Before you lower yourself, your centre of mass should be as near as possible to the centre of the object. Next, you pick, proceed and place.