All employers are tasked with the responsibility of taking steps to comply with the Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992, which includes conducting a risk assessment on all manual handling tasks that could potentially pose a risk of injury.
The core aim is to avoid manual handling wherever possible where there is a risk of injury, if it is practical to do so. If this is not possible then steps must be taken to reduce the risk of injury, as far as is reasonably practical.
Each individual task that involves manual handling and that poses a significant risk of injury will need to be considered as part of your risk assessment, which will need to be reviewed whenever the process changes or for example, new equipment is introduced. Operations should be monitored and regular reviews conducted to make sure any unnecessary manual handing is eliminated.
Some employers harbour concerns over completing risk assessments, but they need not be cause for worry, and can be summarised into three main steps:
Step 1: Ascertain Whether a Risk Assessment is Necessary
The first step is to ascertain whether a risk assessment is actually necessary for any given task. A tick chart is a good way of doing this. If you decide that it is possible to avoid manual handling, then you will need to monitor the task to ensure manual handling is actually being avoided.
Step 2: Follow the TILE Process
It can really help to follow the checklist process known as ‘TILE’. This will guide you through considering the Task in hand and it the effort required to do it; the Individual carrying out the task and any particular characteristics or special circumstances; the Load being handled weight, shape and the route it will take, and the Environment in which the handling is being conducted.
Step 3: Make your Report
Every task that requires manual handling and poses a significant risk of injury will need to be included in the risk assessment report. It is totally acceptable to follow a template format for the report, providing it includes any measures of control you have put in place or intend to put in place following on from the assessment. The report should be reviewed on a regular basis, at least once a year, or as soon any changes occur to any aspect of the task.
Hopefully this information will act as an outline guide, however if you are still concerned over your duties surrounding manual handing risk assessments, why not take the Alistair Bromhead Ltd manual handling risk assessor course?
This is a one-day course that will equip you with the ability to undertake effective manual handling risk assessments. It’s a practical, hands-on session that takes you through real life risk situations with expert guidance. It is focused on inanimate loads, so geared towards administrative, construction, industrial and logistics settings. For more information you can email info@abromhead.co.uk or call 07932 674707.