The regulations
Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992. They expand on the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.
Four things to consider
The task
Does it involve excessive twisting, carrying or reaching?
Does it involve excessive twisting, carrying or reaching?
The load
Is it heavy, bulky, difficult to grasp?
Is it heavy, bulky, difficult to grasp?
The environment
Slippery floors, cramped conditions, obstructions.
Slippery floors, cramped conditions, obstructions.
The capability of the person
Who is actually doing it, on this day.
Who is actually doing it, on this day.
The fourth one is the one people skip. The same 20kg sack is a different job for a 19-year-old on their first week, someone with a back injury, and someone six months pregnant. The load has not changed. The risk has.
The lifting calculator
Pick the height the load starts or finishes at, and whether it is close to your body or held out at arm's length.
The full table
| Height | Close — men | Close — women | Arm's length — men | Arm's length — women |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shoulder height | 10kg | 5kg | 5kg | 2kg |
| Elbow height | 20kg | 10kg | 10kg | 5kg |
| Knuckle height | 25kg | 15kg | 12kg | 7kg |
| Mid lower leg | 20kg | 10kg | 10kg | 5kg |
| Floor level | 10kg | 5kg | 5kg | 2kg |
Read the shape of it. The safest lift is at knuckle height, close to the body. Everything above and below that drops, and moving the load away from you roughly halves the figure again. That is why you squat down to the load and hold it against you — not because someone said so, but because those two things are worth more than everything else combined.
These are filters, not limits. Staying under the guideline figure does not make a lift safe, and going over it is not automatically unsafe. It is a signal to look harder at the task, the load, the environment and the person.
Reducing the risk
Three from the original, and they are the three that come up most:
- Use a trolley or a sack barrow to move heavy items
- Make more journeys so you carry less each time
- Break the load into smaller parts
Work through a real one
What happens when it goes wrong
Short-term and superficial injuries
Strains, cuts, crushed fingers, a dropped load landing on a foot.
Strains, cuts, crushed fingers, a dropped load landing on a foot.
Long-term injuries
Musculoskeletal disorders. These are the ones that end careers, and they usually build up over years rather than arriving in one moment.
Musculoskeletal disorders. These are the ones that end careers, and they usually build up over years rather than arriving in one moment.
Mental health issues
Chronic pain, loss of income, loss of the job you trained for.
Chronic pain, loss of income, loss of the job you trained for.
Damaged goods
The cheapest consequence on this list, and the only one anyone tends to mention.
The cheapest consequence on this list, and the only one anyone tends to mention.