Manual Handling Hazards: Examples, Risks & Control Measures

Manual handling occurs in various working environments including construction, hotel management and agriculture. From lifting heavy objects and pushing carts, to handling construction materials and hazardous substances, it’s critical that employees implement the right manual handling techniques. This can help individuals and companies reduce the risk of manual handling injuries, penalties and more.

In this article, we look at examples of manual handling hazards, the risks involved, and control measures for protecting your organisation and employees.

What are Manual Handling Hazards?

Manual handling hazards are factors that impact the safe transport of objects and materials.

Some of the most common hazards associated with manual handling are related to the weight, size and fragility of the objects being moved. Environmental factors like poor lighting, obstructed pathways and slippery floors can also pose significant risks.

Types of Manual Handling Hazards

• Manual Lifting Hazards occur when employees handle heavy, awkward or bulky objects, putting strain on their backs, shoulders and muscles.

• Material Handling Hazards, also known as material shifting hazards, arise when items are moved, stacked, or transported without proper stabilisation or security. This includes situations where materials are moved by machinery or are manually transported, creating a risk of sudden shifts or falling loads.

• Environmental Hazards are external factors like lighting, uneven flooring, or cluttered spaces that impact the safe transport of objects. These conditions increase the risk of slips, trips and falls.

Common Manual Handling Environments

• Construction. Construction sites are one of the most common environments for manual lifting, as materials like sand, bricks and other heavy objects often need to be transported from one area to another.

• Aged Care. The importance of manual handling in aged care cannot be overstated, as employees frequently lift and transport patients and equipment. Using proper techniques is essential to prevent injuries and ensure caregivers’ and residents’ health, safety and well-being.

• Manufacturing. Workers often lift, move and position heavy and bulky items during production processes, increasing the risk of strains, repetitive motion injuries and equipment-related accidents.

• Transportation. Transportation employees regularly load, unload, and secure items of various weights and sizes. Load stabilisation is crucial to ensure safe transport and avoid material shifting hazards that could lead to manual handling injuries.

• Agriculture and Farming. Handling tasks like lifting feed bags, moving livestock and operating machinery are common. Learning proper operating procedures and techniques can improve productivity and reduce the risk of injury.

• Warehousing and Logistics. Tasks like stacking, sorting and moving products throughout a facility often involve manual handling. Musculoskeletal disorders are particularly common in this environment.

What are 5 Manual Handling Hazard Examples?

A hazard of manual handling is often situational and applies to a specific scenario. However, some hazards occur often across different environments. Common manual handling hazards include:

1. Lifting Heavy Objects

This manual handling hazard comes up in just about every industry. Whether it’s transporting a construction load, a heavy box or couch, or carrying a patient, heavy lifting can strain a person’s spine, joints and muscles. Recognising and using the correct manual handling techniques, asking for assistance, and using the right lifting equipment can help to reduce the associated risks.

2. Repetitive Movements

Even in cases where loads aren’t particularly heavy, performing the same actions regularly can strain joints and muscles. This can lead to injuries like tendonitis and repetitive strain injuries (RSIs), causing chronic pain and impacting performance over time. Taking regular breaks and stretching muscles to avoid strain can help to prevent these types of manual handling hazards injuries.

3. Poor Posture

Poor posture is another common hazard that leads to manual handling accidents and injuries. Lifting with backs instead of legs, for example, is a common mistake that employees make. This can increase the risk of musculoskeletal disorders leading to temporary or lasting back, neck, and shoulder pain.

4. Poor Grip

Alongside poor posture, poor grip is another of the most common cause of hazards in manual handling. Often a result of rushing or lack of planning, poor grip increases the risk of objects being dropped, leading to material damage and potential injuries.

5. Slips, Trips & Falls

According to the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA), slips, trips and falls cause 25% of yearly injury claims. Sprains, strains, contusions, fractures and lacerations can be caused by slippery surfaces, transitioning from one surface to another, or navigating obstacles. Designing safe workplaces and processes and maintaining good housekeeping can help avoid these hazards of manual handling.

Manual Handling Risks

While a hazard in manual handling refers to the potential dangers involved, a manual handling risk relates to the likelihood and impact that hazard can have on employees and operations. These risks can come in various forms including injuries, penalties, legal claims, impact on productivity and efficiency, and damage to an organisation’s reputation. Let’s look at each risk of manual handling a bit closer.

Manual Handling Injuries

One of the most common and clear risks is the potential for injuries from manual handling. According to the Health and Safety Executive, hazardous manual handling causes over a third of workplace injuries.

Improper handling techniques can result in serious and lasting damage or even fatalities. Even simple mistakes like tripping over a box, maintaining poor posture, or using the wrong lifting technique can be detrimental.

Common manual handling injuries in the workplace include:

1. Muscular sprains and strains involve overstretching or tearing muscles and ligaments when lifting overly heavy loads or making sudden movements during manual lifting.
2. Trapped nerves can result from repetitive movements or maintaining awkward postures, leading to pain and numbness.
3. Hernias are painful protrusions of tissue that can be caused by excessive strain and improper lifting techniques, especially when handling heavy objects without core support.
4. Cuts, bruising and abrasions come from contact with sharp or rough surfaces while handling materials, often due to poor grip or lack of protective equipment.
5. Fractures and broken bones can occur when a heavy load is dropped, or when a person slips, trips or falls during a manual handling task.
6. Musculoskeletal disorders are a range of chronic conditions that affect muscles, tendons and joints, impacting the body’s movement. Examples include rotator cuff injuries and carpal tunnel syndrome which affect the movement of the shoulders, hands and wrists.

Compliance Penalties

Many industries have strict health and safety guidelines and regulations for manual handling. These may include training requirements, maintaining documentation, conducting risk assessment, and providing appropriate lifting equipment to minimise the risk of manual handling injury.

Failing to comply with regulations can lead to financial penalties even if no manual handling injuries occur onsite.

Legal Claims

When injuries do occur, it’s not only medical expenses that companies may be responsible for. A business that fails to provide a safe working environment with minimal hazards for manual handling tasks, may be liable for lasting injuries incurred. This could include costs for workers’ compensation, legal fees, costly settlements, and further liability claims.

Reduced Productivity

Manual handling injuries can reduce productivity as employees take time to recover, while other team members have to handle their redistributed workload. This can cause delays, impacting overall performance and operations. If an employee is out of action for an extended period, temporary replacements may need to be found, requiring additional time-consuming training.

Even where injuries don’t occur, navigating hazards can take significant time, also impacting productivity and efficiency.

Reputational Damage

Frequent injuries or regular non-compliance issues can quickly impact a company’s reputation. This can affect worker morale, impacting employee retention and making it difficult to attract new talent through external hiring. A poor reputation can also affect customer trust, potentially resulting in lost revenue.

Manual Handling Control Measures

1. Risk Assessment for Hazardous Manual Tasks

Risk assessments are often a requirement in manual handling operations regulations. However, they are also valuable initiatives in themselves. By carefully evaluating the risks of manual handling procedures, you can identify potentially dangerous situations and put control measures in place to reduce the risk of injury.

Focus on storage areas, environmental hazards and standard operating procedures for manual handling during a risk assessment. Consider bringing in a health and safety executive to advise on further risk mitigation strategies.