The HSE has launched a new A5 publication which will be of interest to manual handling instructors. Called the "Assessment of Repetitive Tasks of the upper limbs (the ART Tool), it provides a way of assessing what is a reasonable position / frequency of use for different parts of the body. It is available at: http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/indg438.pdf
It provides a useful form of "science" to enable a view to be taken on the level of risk associated with some of the issues we discuss on the City & Guilds Manual Handling Train the Trainer course – such as non-neutral joint positions, cumulative stress, twisting and bending