According to the Health and Safety Authority (HSA), “Manual Handling involves any transporting or supporting of any load by one or more employees, and includes lifting, putting down, pushing, pulling, carrying or moving a load, which by reason of its characteristics or unfavourable ergonomic conditions, involves risk, particularly of back injury, to employees”.
The Safety, Health and Welfare at Work, (General Applications) Regulations 2007, as amended, outline the requirements for manual handling; these include:
- Undertaking a manual handling risk assessment of work / tasks to identify hazards and appropriate controls.
- Organising tasks to facilitate the use of mechanical or other means to eliminate / reduce the need for manual handling of loads by persons.
- Providing instruction and training to relevant staff.