A recent study found that manual handling causes over a third of workplace injuries. These types of injuries can have severe implications for both your operators and your business.
To prevent injuries from happening in your workplace, there are specific protocols you and your employees need to follow.
This article features a checklist for manual handling to improve health and safety in your workplace.
- What needs to be considered in any lifting activity?
- Manual handling techniques to use in your workplace.
- The role forklift trucks play in keeping your employees safe.
What needs to be considered in any lifting activity?
There are many different manual handling activities your employees may take on. Some of these include lifting, lowering, pushing, pulling and carrying. However, any lifting activity has individual circumstances. Therefore, there are certain factors to consider, including:
Individual capability - every employee is different. Some may be more physical and others may have health conditions. Before you delegate manual handling jobs, consider every employee's capabilities. This will reduce the risk of injury or other issues occurring.
The nature of the load - one load might be heavier than another. The next load could be an awkward shape and difficult to pick up. Depending on the nature of the load, you should decide whether an employee can handle it on their own or whether they might need support from a forklift truck.
Environmental conditions - several environmental conditions must be considered before a manual handling activity occurs, including lighting, heating and slippery floors.
Training - manual handling training is a legal requirement in any situation where your staff are required to do any lifting, lowering, pulling or pushing that carries a level of risk. This training aims to ensure employees understand the hazards associated with manual handling and how to reduce the risk of injury.
Manual handling best practices.
As part of the manual handling training, you (or a specialist) provide to your employees, there are some techniques and protocols to educate them about. These include:
Think before lifting/handling - lifting should be planned carefully. Any obstructions should be moved out of the way and the lifter should clearly understand where the load will be placed. If the shipment is too heavy, ensure a forklift truck is available to provide support.
Always adopt a stable position - regardless of the weight of a load, the employee’s feet should be apart, with one leg slightly forward to maintain balance. Stability is crucial when avoiding manual handling injuries.
Maintain a good posture - employees can keep a good posture when handling a load in several ways. These include keeping the load close to the waist, avoiding twisting the back or leaning sideways and looking ahead at all times. Find out more about maintaining a good posture when handling goods here.
For some additional tips and advice on manual handling download our free safety resources here.
The role lift trucks play in reducing manual handling.
Although following specific protocols and implementing lifting techniques can make a difference, your business should eliminate manual handling where possible. This can be done by investing in forklift trucks to take on the heavy lifting.
Toyota’s forklift trucks are leading the way when it comes to safety and many of our trucks are built with manual handling in mind.
BT Pro-Lifter Hand Pallet Truck - our unique pro-lifter pump truck has been designed and built with manual handling in mind, the innovative and patented design requires 67% less starting force than standard hand pallet trucks. This reduces the amount of effort required to make it move decreasing the risk of strains and injuries related to manual handling.
Toyota's Powered Pallet Truck range - our range of electric pallet trucks completely take away the manual handling aspects of material handling, as they are powered the only effort that needs to be made by the operator is pushing the buttons to move it.Pedestrian Tow Tractors - our range of pedestrian Tow Tractors allow safe and controlled moving of trolleys and roll cages, taking away the need for manual handling and ensuring the transportation of goods with minimal effort.
Replacing manual handling with trucks has a key role to play in achieving health and safety goals. However, it is important to keep in mind the importance of offering your operators the correct training. Not only can training improve health and safety, it can also reduce costs by making your staff more productive. Discover the training we offer here.