manual handling - speedy services...manual handling a major cause of back and muscle-related injury...

Manual HandlingToolbox Presentation

speedyservices.com/intelligentsafety

Main points: Introduction

• This is an awareness talk about manual handling, which is part of our Intelligent Safety programme

• Intelligent Safety is part of Speedy’s overarching sustainability strategy

• It should take around 30 mins• We will cover: – Why your back is vulnerable

– The seven deadly sins of manual handling

– Some ideas on equipment and some approaches on avoiding manual handling risks

• We will have a quick quiz at the end

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Manual handling A major cause of back and muscle-related injury

44% of handling injuries are back related

6.6 days were lost for each manual handling injury

£5.7 billion cost to society from handling incidents

2.3 million working days lost in 2013/2014

909,000 working days lost due to handling injuries

31% of UK fatal accidents from construction


Main points: Manual Handling: A major cause of back and muscle-related injury

• Construction accounts for about 5% of employees in the UK but also for 31% of UK fatal accidents

• Across the construction industry as a whole: an estimated 2.3 million working days were lost in 2013/14

• According to the HSE in 2013/14 an estimated 909,000 working days were lost due to handling injuries

• This HSE statistics break down to show that an average of 6.6 days were lost for each manual handling injury

• The HSE further states that manual handling causes over a third of all workplace injuries

• In fact their studies show that back pain caused by manual handling incidents is currently affecting one million people a year and costing society £5.7 billion.

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But first a word on competence• Construction is a dangerous industry

• Improving competence is key to reducing accidents

• It’s people that often cause accidents

• Competence is skills, knowledge and behaviour

• Competence is thinking about: – Self-awareness: get to know yourself – Situational awareness: expect the unexpected – Risk awareness: think outside the box


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Main points: But first a word on competence

• Standards of safety are improving all the time• Construction is a dangerous occupation. Around 50

people die a year (that’s on average one a week) and thousands suffer ill health

• The industry believes that improving competence will reduce accidents

• What is competence? We think of it as the skills and the know-how to do the job. BUT it is also about behaviour and the attitudes of people...because, it’s people that often cause accidents. It involves:

– Self-awareness: get to know yourself

– Situational awareness: expect the unexpected

– Risk awareness: think outside the box


Self-awareness get to know yourself• Think about YOURSELF and your role

• Consider your frame of mind

• Late nights and hang-overs can affect judgement

• Domestic disputes and emotional upsets affect concentration

• All these can affect performance and safety


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Main points: Self-awareness: get to know yourself

• This is where the person considers themself and their personal role in the process

• That means YOU and your frame of mind• Late nights or hang-overs can all affect your judgement• Domestic disputes like rows, emotional upsets, and

stress can affect your attitude and concentration• All that can affect your performance, your safety and the

safety of others. Self-awareness get to know yourself• Think about YOURSELF and your role• Consider your frame of mind• All these can affect performance and safety


Situational awareness expect the unexpected• Don’t assume today will be the same

as yesterday. Things change

• Take note of the broader context in which you work

• Stop and think about what’s going on around you

• Things change so expect the unexpected risk


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Main points: Situational awareness: expect the unexpected

• Don’t assume that today will be the same as yesterday. Things change

• Situational awareness means taking note of the broader context in which you are working

• Take a moment to stop and think about what is going on around you

• For example – one minute there’s a track across a site and two hours later someone has dug a hole, ready for you to fall in. It wasn’t there before!


Risk awareness think outside the box• Risk awareness is more than risk assessment

• It recognises the additional risks of: – Age

– Inexperience

– Poor eyesight

– Fading light

– Language

• Consider out-of-context risk due to new jobs and unfamiliar surroundings


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Main points: Risk awareness: think outside the box

• Risk awareness is more than risk assessment• It recognises the increased risks that relate to

things beyond normal risk assessment such as age, inexperience, poor eyesight, fading light and language

• A good example is out-of-context risk, where risk is increased because of working in a different part of the site or on a new job or in unfamiliar surroundings

• An example of this could be an operative who is asked to undertake a drilling task in a hazardous area where there is risk of combustion


Back painThe uncomfortable truth


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Main points: Back pain The uncomfortable truth

• Manual handling injuries affect people in many industries including engineers, caterers and office workers but particularly site operatives

• That is why we refer to this as a ‘manual handling’ problem rather than a ‘lifting’ problem

• Another ‘uncomfortable truth’ is that injury sustained at work can seriously affect your home and social life too

• Before we look at the causes of manual handling injuries let’s take a look at how the back works.


The spine

Intervertebral disc

Vertebrae

Facet joint

Vertebral body

Vertebral processes

Spinal cord


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Main points: The spine

• Symptoms are progressive and not reversible• The human spine has three main jobs: – To transfer the weight of your head and trunk onto your pelvis

– To act as a ‘shock absorber’

– To protect the spinal chord

• The spine has a natural ‘S’ shape – anything we do that disturbs this shape e.g. lifting heavy or awkward loads, runs the risk of damaging the spine

• Let’s take a look at the main causes of back injury – the seven deadly sins.


Seven deadly sins1. Lifting a load

incorrectly 2. Lowering 3. Twisting


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Main points: Seven deadly sins

• Lifting Lifting light objects isn’t an issue (unless we do it 50 times a day when repetition can be a problem) – but lifting a 25kg sack of cement is a different story altogether!

• Lowering This is simple. It causes damage in the same way that lifting does, because you still have to support the weight. You should use your powerful leg muscles to take the weight – not your back.

• Twisting The issue is when you try to twist your body and support a weight at the same time (such as manoeuvring plaster board). You are asking the spine to do two jobs simultaneously that it is not designed to do – this causes problems


Seven deadly sins

4. Pushing 5. Pulling 7. Holding6. Carrying a load


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Main points: Seven deadly sins

• Pushing and pulling Here is another simple message – pushing is better than pulling because it uses stronger leg muscles. Remember to always use the most appropriate manual handling aid for the job and the terrain and do not overload

• Carrying and holding The HSE guidance for weight is 20kg if you are male and 16kg if you are female based on T.I.L.E.


T.I.L.E.

TILE

is for Task

is for Individual

is for Load

is for Environment


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Main points: T.I.L.E.

• T.I.L.E. is a simple approach that will help you decide on the most appropriate equipment and the safest way to manoeuvre a load

• T is for Task – think about what you have to move, to where, how far and number of ‘manoeuvres’ needed

• I is for Individual – consider the person carrying out the task. Their size, strength, capabilities and any training needs

• L is for Load – how heavy is it? Is it awkward, bulky, does it interrupt visibility, is it hot or cold, how stable will it be in transit?

• E is for Environment – consider the weather, lighting, ground conditions, space and posture constraints.


How to manage risk

1. Avoid 2. Prevent 3. Minimise


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Main points: How to manage risk

• RISK ASSESSMENT is a legal requirement• There are three key steps to managing risk: AVOID – you must do everything possible to avoid

moving an object or load in the first place e.g. plan ahead and have it delivered as close as possible to where it is needed

PREVENT – if you cannot avoid moving the object or load, do everything you can to prevent injury e.g. use manual handling equipment

MINIMISE – if there is no alternative to manual handling you must use the correct lifting techniques and PPE. If possible, try to break the load down into smaller parts

• Let’s look at some equipment that helps to avoid, prevent and minimise risk.


Prevent injury improve productivity

4x4 mini dumper Conveyor system Material lift


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Main points: Prevent injury, improve productivity

• The 4x4 mini dumper completely eradicates pushing, pulling and carrying risks, easily transporting loads even over rough terrain

• The conveyor system moves rubble or excavation waste directly to a muck skip for removal by mechanical means

• The lightweight aluminium material lift helps with lifting and lowering and can easily be controlled and operated by one person

• A brick and block cart avoids the risk of repeated lifting, carrying and lowering of bricks or blocks.


Prevent injury improve productivity

Powered stair climber Paving stone layer Tracked skip loader


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Main points: Prevent injury, improve productivity

• Instead of lifting and carrying loads up or down stairs, the powered stair climber safely handles large items in a simple one-person operation

• Instead of lifting, twisting, carrying and lowering heavy paving stones, the paving stone layer manoeuvres paving stones safely and easily

• Finally, the tracked skip loader makes moving and loading of materials and waste on-site a breeze. It removes all carrying, pushing and pulling risks.


Summary• Competence is key – it’s skills, knowledge

and behaviour

• Use handling aids – they prevent injury and improve productivity

• Plan ahead

• Remember the seven deadly sins

• Think T.I.L.E. – task, individual, load and environment

• Don’t become a statistic.


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Main points: Summary

• Competence is key – it’s skills, knowledge AND behaviour

• The main point we would like you to take away from this talk is that you don’t have to lift and carry when there are many handling aids available to help you

• We want you to plan ahead, think about the job and the risks to your back. Ask ‘can it be done a different way?’

• Remember 207,000 people suffer with work-related back pain. They would fill stadium twice over!

• Doing these simple things we have discussed today will ensure that you’re not one of them

• Remember the seven deadly sins: pushing, pulling, twisting, holding, lifting a load incorrectly, lowering, carrying a heavy load

• And T.I.L.E.: task, individual, load and environmentAnd finally before I go let’s have a quick quiz just to make sure you understand about manual handling.


Quick quiz1. Competence requires skills and

knowledge and what else?

2. What are the three human factors we need to focus on to improve competence?

3. What are the regulations that cover manual handling?

4. What are the seven deadly sins?

5. What are the advantages of using manual handling aids?

6. What are the three principles of risk assessment?

7. What are the weight limits, based on HSE guidance, for a male?

8. What is the most common type of manual handling injury?

9. What does T.I.L.E. stand for?

10. Can you think of any manual handling aids?

Remember you are responsible for your safety and that of your matesspeedyservices.com/intelligentsafety

Main points: Quick Quiz1. Competence requires skills and knowledge and what else?

Behaviour and attitudes – because it’s people that often cause accidents

2. What are the three human factors we need to focus on to improve competence? Self-awareness, situational awareness and risk awareness

3. What are the regulations that cover manual handling? Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992 (as amended)

4. What are the seven deadly sins? Pushing, pulling, twisting, holding, lifting a load incorrectly, lowering, carrying a heavy load

5. What are the advantages of using manual handling aids? They make work easier and more efficient but most of all it’s safer

6. What are the three principles of risk assessment? Avoid, prevent and minimise

7. What are the weight limits, based on HSE guidance, for a male? 20kg

8. What is the most common type of manual handling injury? Back damage accounts for 44% of manual handling injuries

9. What does T.I.L.E. stand for? Task, individual, load and environment

10. Can you think of any manual handling aids? 4x4 mini dumper, paving stone layer, tracked skip loader, conveyor system, material lift, brick and block cart and powered stair climber.

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manual handling - speedy services...manual handling a major cause of back and muscle-related injury...

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