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Safe Moving & Handling.

All employers in the UK must protect their employees from the risk of injury and ill health from hazardous manual handling tasks in the workplace.

Manual handling is moving or supporting a load by hand or using your body. It can include lifting, pushing, pulling, lowering, carrying, or moving a load.

Manual handling risks can be found in many workplaces, including farms, building sites, offices, factories, warehouses and many more.

Heavy manual labour, awkward posture, repetitive handling and existing injuries or conditions are all risk factors for developing MSD (musculoskeletal disorders).

Acting now will help prevent injuries and ill health, encourage employees to report any signs and symptoms to you or their worker representative at an early stage, so you can take steps to reduce the risk of injury.

The law states that the employer is to assess the risk to the health and safety of their workers. Identifying hazardous manual handling of loads complying with the MHR (Manual Handling Regulations) will help to reduce the risk of injury to employees.

Avoid hazardous manual handling operations, ‘so far as reasonably practicable.’

Assess the risk of injury to workers from any hazardous manual handling that cannot be avoided.

Reduce the risk of injury to workers from hazardous manual handling to as low as reasonably practicable.

Workers are also expected to follow the MHR and should:

Follow systems of work in place for their health and safety.

Use any equipment provided for their health and safety correctly.

Inform their shift manager or manager if things change or they notice any hazardous handling activities.

Take care to make sure their activities do not put others at risk.

Assess the risks.

Where you identify risks from hazardous manual handling in your workplace that cannot be avoided, you must do a manual handling risk assessment to help you decide, what is the best course of action to manage these risks. Make sure your workforce is fully involved in the risk assessment.

Consider risks arising from:

The task.

The load.

The working environment.

Any materials or equipment used.

How the work has been allocated and organised.

Individual capacity.

The pace, frequency, and duration of the work.

Make sure to assess the suitability of the employee who is to do the task, some employees may not be suitable due to:

New or expectant mothers

Employees with certain disabilities

Inexperienced employees

Older workers

Make a record of your assessment, what the hazards may be, how employees may be harmed by them and what you have in place to control the risks.

Regularly check these assessments to make sure the risks are adequately controlled and that the risk assessment remains relevant.

Phone
01977 615735
Email
info@training4logistics.co.uk
Location
Unit 4,
Langthwaite Business Park,
WF9 3AP