Risk Assessments

In workplaces, employers are required to assess the risk to their employees, from manual handling.

Risk assessments are carried out by trained assessors who decide whether or not there is a risk of injury and how much of a risk it is.

This includes looking at:

The task - How often is the task performed and how long for? Does it have to be performed quickly?

The individual's capacity – Who is doing the task? Are they physically capable of carrying out the task safely?

The load – How heavy is it? What shape is it? Does it have handles? Is it hot or cold, or wet - do gloves need to be worn?

The environment – Where is this task being carried out? Indoors or outdoors? Is it cold and/or wet? Does the space restrict good posture? Is the ground clear and flat?

If an assessor thinks that there is a risk of injury, the employer must take certain steps to reduce the risk. The first step is to see if they can avoid the task that involves the risk. An example of this is for a doctor to visit a patient at home rather than the patient being brought into the hospital by the ambulance staff. This would eliminate the task of the ambulance staff having to push the patient in a wheelchair from their house to the ambulance, and then into the hospital.

If the task can't be avoided, then the next option is to minimise the risk of injury.

Risk can be reduced in lots of ways:

Make sure that there is a good grip on the load - that hands, the load and any handles are not slippery.
Make sure that the area around the task is clear of obstacles. Make sure that doors are open and that there is nothing on the floor that could trip someone or make them slip.
Use mechanical equipment, for example, push a shopping trolley to the car rather than carry the bags.
Reduce the amount that is handled or split it into smaller pieces.
Extend the time taken to do the job by taking breaks to ensure that the muscles have time to recover.
Get someone to help.