Manual Handling

Overview Of Management & Colleague Responsibilities

Manager Responsibilities

Below is an overview of the responsibilities which is intended to support managers in identifying their key duties that need to be taken to comply with the requirements of this document and the safety management systems of the National Ice Centre.

  • Managers need to ensure hazardous manual handling operations that will affect your colleagues have been formally identified and assessed where a significant risk of injury or ill health is likely to occur.
  • Managers must be able to demonstrate that formal consideration has occurred and all reasonably practicable steps to avoid those hazardous manual handling activities which are likely to cause injury or ill health are in place.
  • Managers must ensure that a manual handling risk assessment has been completed for any remaining unavoidable hazardous manual handling operations.
  • Managers need to demonstrate that all colleagues involved in the completion of the manual handling assessment are competent and have knowledge of the task, people and any equipment involved and are suitably trained to complete risk assessments.
  • Managers need to ensure that all manual handling assessments are up to date with relevant information and are reviewed within an appropriate timeframe. NIC recommends that the maximum review interview for any manual handling risk assessments is 2 years   
  • Managers need to ensure that the completed assessments control measures are identified and implemented effectively.
  • Managers need to formally record what information and/or training on manual handling and the contents of any relevant assessments has been communicated to colleagues including agency and temporary.
  • Managers must ensure all incidents involving manual handling are reported formally and investigated fully.

Employee Responsibilities

The Health & Safety at Work Act 1974 section 7 requires all employees to consider their own health & safety and the safety of others. 

As an employee of the National Ice Centre, if you have concerns in relation to health & safety that is likely to cause you or someone else, injury or ill health then you must ensure that the concern is communicated to your manager immediately.

You are also required to co-operate with the management of the National Ice Centre to ensure compliance with the health & safety arrangements, policies and procedures and work to the requirements identified within this document.

Introduction

Date:               October 2023

Issue:              No. 5

Subject:          Manual Handling

This document forms part of the National Ice Centre’s organisational written safety policy arrangements.

Departments, services or teams may consider it appropriate to develop additional guidance and systems of work on specific work related activities.

Where proposals, additional guidance or changes to systems of work will have an impact on health, safety and welfare, this will be discussed and agreed at the Health & Safety Committee.

If you have any questions or require further information or support on the contents of this document, please contact the NIC Health & Safety Advisor or Corporate Safety Advice.

Legislative Requirements

Any manager who oversees colleagues involved in manual handling activities has specific duties under the Manual handling Operations Regulations 1992 (MHOR 92) which must be complied with.

In order of priority, these duties are to:

  • Avoid manual handling risks where practicable;
  • Assess manual handling risks that remain;
  • Reduce manual handling risks.  

To ensure compliance to the requirements of this legislation specifically Regulation 4, all managers with colleagues undertaking manual handling activities will need to consider and implement the following.

Avoid Hazardous Manual Handling Operations

This legislation considers that all employers avoid the need for hazardous manual handling operations so far as is reasonably practicable.

To achieve this, managers need to consider the following for any hazardous manual handling activities:

  • Does the load need to be moved at all;
  • Can the load be reduced in size;
  • Automation or mechanisation of the process or task so it is no longer undertaken by colleagues.

Reduction of the Risk of Injury

“Reduce the risk of injury from hazardous manual handling, as far as is reasonably practicable”

Once managers have made arrangements to avoid manual handling activities, the remaining manual handling risks will need to be assessed using risk assessment process:

  • Practicable improvements to the manual handling activity being considered;
  • Prioritising and the implementation of those remedial actions;
  • The provision suitable and specific training to ‘at risk’ employees.
Manual Handling Risk Assessments

Completion of the Manual Handling Risk Assessment

“Assess the risk of injury from any hazardous manual handling that cannot be avoided”

The risk assessment must be carried out by a ‘competent person’ as defined in the Safety Policy & Arrangements – ‘Risk Assessment – Guide for Managers’ and will need to consider the following aspects / specific issues:

  • Task (stooping, overhead height twisting etc.)
  • Load (heavy, difficult to grasp, hot, sharp etc.)
  • Working environment (hot, cold small, changes in level, dark etc.)
  • Individual capability (strong, tall, small etc.)

The assessment of individual capabilities also includes further consideration to ‘pregnant workers’, colleagues with known medical conditions and young employees.

Additional information and support can be obtained from the Wellbeing and Health Improvement Team.

There are currently 2 manual handling assessment templates available for use by managers.

  • ‘Manual Handling Risk Assessment’ template which is used for all inanimate object assessments;
  • ‘Assisting People to Move Risk Assessment’ template which must be used for any people moving people activities.
Definition Of Manual Handling

Managers need to be aware of the definition of what constitutes a manual handling activity.

The legislation has identified the definition of ‘manual handling operations’ as:

‘…any transporting or supporting of a load (including the lifting, putting down, pushing, pulling, carrying or moving thereof) by hand or by bodily force’.

What Is Defined As A Load

A load in the context of this legislation is that it is a discrete movable object.  

This includes for example a person, animal, material or object. 

Any implement, tool or machine is not considered to constitute a manual handling load whilst it is being used for its intended purpose.

As an example, a chainsaw being loaded and unloaded from a vehicle would be regarded as a ‘load’ and subject to the requirements of this document and subject to MHOR 92 but once the equipment is turned on and being used, it is not considered as a load but as working equipment.

Information & Training

Managers must communicate information to their colleagues regarding manual handling activities and the risks that may be present. 

The key document that must be communicated is the completed manual handling risk assessment.

Additional information on manual handling techniques for colleagues is available within the NIC booklet ‘Safe Manual Handling’ which can be obtained from the NIC Health & Safety Advisor.  

This document is also available to download from the Safety Manual. 

Training is important but cannot on its own overcome a lack of mechanical aids or unsuitable working conditions.  

Where possible, and to support the training provided by Corporate Safety, local training which considers the specific tasks and systems of work should also be in place.

General training on manual handling of inanimate objects is available from Corporate Safety Advice and further information on the training available is available from the intranet site.

All communication, information and training provided to colleagues must be formally recorded to demonstrate it has taken place.