MANUAL AND

MECHANICAL
HANDLING
HAZARDS AND
CONTROL
BY: GROUP 5
RAMIREZ, CHEURNEVEE
ALEJO, PATRICK JAYSON
MUSTAFA, RAYAN
 OBJECTIVES
■Describe the hazards and the risk factors which
should be considered when assessing risks from
manual handling activities.
■Suggest ways of minimizing manual handling risk
■Identify the hazards and procedures to ensure
safety in the use of lifting and moving equipment
with specific reference to fork-lift, trucks manually
operated load-moving equipment, etc…
 INTRODUCTION
■Accidents due to poor manual handling
technique still accounts for over 25% of all
reported accidents and in some occupational
sectors, such as health services, rises above 5%
■Mechanical handling methods should always be
used whenever possible, but they are not
without their hazards.
■The risks from these hazards are reduced by
thorough examinations and inspections as
required by the LIFTING OPERATIONS AND
 Figure 10 .1
Handling goods onto a truck
in a typical loading dock
MANUAL HANDLING
HAZARDS AND
INJURIES
MANUAL HANDLING

Is the movement of a load by human

effort alone.
 It may involve the transportation of the
load or the direct support of the load
including pushing, pulling, carrying,
moving using bodily force and of course,
straightforward lifting of heavy loads is
very common and several million working
days are lost each year as a result of
 Typical hazards of manual
handling include:
Lifting a load which is too heavy or too
cumbersome, resulting in back injury
Poor posture during lifting or poor lifting
technique, resulting in back injury.
 Dropping a load, resulting in foot
injury
 Lifting sharp edged or hot loads
resulting in hand injuries
 Injuries caused by manual handling
■ACUTE INJURIES
normally lead to
sickness, leave from
work and a period of
rest during time is
damage heals
■CHRONIC INJURIES
build up over a long
period of time and are
usually irreversible, Figure 10.2 Manual handling
There are many potential
producing illnesses hazards
 Muscular sprains and strains

Most Fractures and Back injuries

common
injuries Trapped nerve
are all
Hernia
musculo
-skeletal Buts, bruising and abrasions
in
nature Rheumatism
and are:Work-related upper limb disorders
(WRULDs)
Figure 10.3 Main injury sites caused
by manual handling accidents
 MANUAL
HANDLING RISK
ASSESSMENTS
 HIERARCHY OF MEASURES FOR
MANUAL HANDLING OPERATIONS
 Avoid manual handling operations so far as is
reasonably practicable by either redesigning
the task to avoid moving the load or by
automating or mechanizing the operations.
 If manual handling cannot be avoided, then a
suitable and sufficient risk assessment should
be made.
 Reduce the risk of injury from those
operations, either by the use of mechanical
handling or making improvements to the task,
Manual Handling Assessments

The Regulation specify four main

factors;
• TASK
• LOAD
• WORKING ENVIRONMENT
• CAPABILITY OF INDIVIDUAL
who is expected to do the
lifting.
Is the load held at a distance from the
trunk?
Is a satisfactory body posture being
adopted?
Are there excessive distances to carry
the load?
Excessive pulling and pushing of the
load?
Is there a risk of sudden movement of
the load?
Is frequent or prolonged physical
effort required?
Is there sufficient rest or recovery
periods?
Is there an imposed rate of work on
the task?
Does the handling include two or more
 WORKING
LOAD
ENVIRONMENT

• Too heavy, bulky • Space

or unwieldy? • Uneven floors?
• Too difficult to • Stairs
grasp? • Temperature
• Are the contents • Ventilation
of the load likely problem (e.g.
to shift? windy?)
• Is the load sharp, • Lighting
CAPABILIT Does the task require
Y OF unusual characteristics of
INDIVIDUA the individual?
L Are employees who might
reasonably pregnant or to
have a health problem, put
at risk by the task?
Figure 10.4 UK guidance for manual lifting
 Reducing the risk of injury
■MECHANICAL ASSISSTANCE involves the use
of mechanical aids such as,

Figure 10.5
Figure 10.6
Wheelbarrow
Hand-powered
Hydraulic Hoists
 Figure 10.7 Figure 10.8
A pallet truck for moving Mechanical aids to lift
loads patients in hospital
 Storing frequently used loads at waist
level.
• The removal of obstacles and the use of
a better lifting technique that relies on
T the leg rather than back muscles should
A be encouraged.
• Hands should position correctly when
S pushing.
• Work routine should examined
K •• Care
To see whether it could be made
must be taken
L lighter, smaller or easier to grasp or
manage.
O • Slippery deposits or sharp edges,
A should be removed.
D Reducing the risk of
injury
WORKING ENVIRONMENT
 Space constraints should be removed
or reduced.
 Floors should be regularly cleaned and
repaired when damaged.
 Adequate lighting is essential and
working at more than one level should
be minimized so that hazardous ladder
work is avoided.
 Attention should be given to the need
for suitable temperatures and
Reducing
ventilation in the working the
area.risk of
 CAPABILITY OF THE INDIVIDUAL
The fifth area where control measures can be
applied to reduce the risk of injury.
 The state of health of the employee and his/her
medical record will provide the first indication as to
whether the individual is capable of undertaking the
task
A period of sick leave or a change of job
can make an individual vulnerable to
manual handling injury.
 The Regulations require that the
employee be given information and
training. Reducing the risk of
 MANUAL HANDLING TRAINING
Manual handling training session:
• types of injuries associated with manual handling activities;
• the findings of the manual handling assessment
• the recognition of potentially hazardous manual handling
operations
• the correct use of mechanical handling aids
• the correct use of personal protective equipment
• features of the working environment which aid safety in
manual handling operations
• good housekeeping issues
• factors which affect the capability of the individual
• good lifting or manual handling technique is shown in Figure
Figure 10.9 Main elements of a good lifting technique
 SAFETY IN THE
USE OF LIFTING
AND MOVING
EQUIPMENT
 Use strong, stable and suitable lifting
equipment
 Equipment should be positioned and installed
correctly
 Equipment should be visibly marked with the
safe working load (SWL)
 Lifting operations must be planned, supervised
and performed in a safe manner by competent
people
Four Elements to Manual Handling
Operation
 HANDLING EQUIPMENT
 THE LOAD
 THE WORKPLACE
 THE EMPLOYEES INVOLVED
 TYPES OF MECHANICAL
HANDLING AND LIFTING
EQUIPMENT
■CONVEYORS
 Transport loads along a given level which may
not be completely horizontal

■THREE COMMON FORM OF CONVEYORS

– Belt
– Roller
– Screw conveyor
 Overhead
conveyor
Roller
conveyor

Slate
conveyor
in a food
factory

Figure 10.10 Conveyor systems

■ELEVATORS
 Move loads
from one
level or floor
to another.

 Used to
transport
goods
between
floors.
Figure 10.11 A brick elevator
 Most Common Hazards and
Preventive Measures:
■ the in-running nip, where a hand is trapped between the rotating rollers and
the belt. Protection from this hazard can be provided by nip guards and trip
devices;
■ entanglement with the power drive requiring the fitting of fixed guards and
the restriction of loose clothing which could become caught in the drive;
■ loads falling from the conveyor. This can be avoided by edge guards and
barriers;
■ impact against overhead systems. Protection against this hazard may be given
by the use of bump caps, warning signs and restricted access;
■ contact hazards prevented by the removal of sharp
■ edges, conveyor edge protection and restricted access;
■ manual handling hazards;
■ noise and vibration hazards.
Screw conveyors, often
used to move very
viscous substances, must
be provided with either
fixed guards or covers to
prevent accidental
access. People should be
prohibited from riding on
belt conveyors, and
emergency trip wires or
stop buttons must be
fitted and be operational SCREW CONVEYOR
at all times.
Fork-lift trucks
 Most common form of mobile handling
equipment
 It comes from the group of vehicles, known
as lift trucks
 Can be used in factories, on construction
sites and on farms.
The term Fork-lift truck is
 Design applied
normally to operate in narrower
to the counter- aisles
balanced lift truck, where the
load on the forks is counter-
balanced by the weight of the
vehicle over the rear wheels.
Hazards when using Fork-lift
Overturnin trucks
Overloadi
Collisions
g ng
If to be
Silent
used
operation
outside,
of Uneven vehicles
electricall road will
y powered surface become
fork-lift
additional
truck
hazards
Loss of Overhead
Speeding
load obstruction
Physical hazards
 Noise
 Exhaust fumes
 Vibrations
 Manual handling
 Ergonomic
Figure 10.12 Reach truck designed so that the
load retracts inside the wheel base to save space

 Drivers should be at least 18 years of age and

their fitness to drive should be reassessed
regularly ( every 5 years after age of 40 and
Other Forms of Lifting
Equipment
■Cranes ( mobile overhead and jib )
– Care should be taken to avoid sudden
shock loading
– Controls should be clearly marked and be
of the ‘hold-to-run’ type.
■Lifts and hoists
■Lifting tackle

CRANE
CRANE JIB OVERHEAD
 The principal reasons for crane
failure, including loss of load,
are:
overloading
poor slinging of load
insecure or unbalanced load
overturning
collision with another structure or overhead power
lines
foundation failure
structural failure of the crane
operator error
lack of maintenance and/or regular inspections
incorrect signals given
 Lift or Hoist
 Lift or Hoist Incorporates a platform or cage and is
restricted in its movement by guides
 HOISTS – generally used in industrial settings (e.g.
construction sites and garbage)
 LIFTS – normally used inside buildings.
 Both may be designed to carry passengers and/ or
goods alone.
 It is very important that a safe system work is
employed during maintenance operations to protect
others, such as members of the public, from falling
Figure 10.13 A hoist for lifting cars
 REQUIRMENTS FOR
THE STATUTORY
EXAMINATION OF
LIFTING EQUIPMENT
 Inspection is used to
identify whether the
equipment can be
operated, adjusted and
maintained safely so
that any defect, damage
or wear can be detected
before it results in
unacceptable risks.
– It is normally
performed by a
competent person Figure 14 Types of safety hook
appointed by the
■A thorough examination is a detailed
examination, which may involve a visual
check, a disassembly and testing of
components and/or an equipment test
under operating conditions.

■A thorough examination as a visual

examination carried out by a competent
person carefully and critically and, where
appropriate, supplemented by other
means, such as measurement and testing,
in order to check whether the equipment
REFERENCES

■ INTRODUCTION TO HEALTH AND SAFETY AT WORK FOURTH EDITION

BY PHIL HUGHES AND ED FERRETT