Manual handling includes transporting a load and supporting a load in a static posture, using the hands or any other part of the body, such as the shoulder. Manual handling also includes the intentional dropping of a load and the throwing of a load, whether into a container or from one person to another.
Applying effort for any other purpose is not a manual handling operation. For example, turning the starting handle of an engine or lifting a control lever on a machine is not manual handling, nor is the action of pulling on a rope while lashing down cargo on the back of a vehicle.
More than a third of all accidents reported each year to the enforcing authorities relate to manual handling, with over 10% being ‘major injuries’.
The vast majority of reported manual handling accidents result in an over-three-day injury, most commonly a sprain or strain, often of the back. Manual handling operations also account for higher compensation costs than any other type of injury and need to be treated accordingly.