Introduction to Health and Safety at Work

Introduction to Health and Safety at Work
146
➤
are the contents of the load likely to shift? This is 
a particular problem when the load is a container 
full of smaller items, such as a sack full of nuts and 
bolts. The movement of people (in a nursing home) 
or animals (in a veterinary surgery) are loads which 
fall into this category
➤
is the load sharp, hot or cold? Personal protective 
equipment may be required.
The 
working environment
in which the manual hand-
ling operation is to take place, must be considered dur-
ing the assessment. The following areas will need to be 
assessed:
➤
any space constraints which might inhibit good pos-
ture. Such constraints include lack of headroom, 
narrow walkways and items of furniture
➤
slippery, uneven or unstable fl oors
➤
variations in levels of fl oors or work surfaces, pos-
sibly requiring the use of ladders
➤
extremes of temperature and humidity. These effects 
are discussed in detail in Chapter 15
➤
ventilation problems or gusts of wind
➤
poor lighting conditions. 
Finally, the capability of the 
individual
to lift or carry the 
load must be assessed. The following questions will 
need to be asked: 
➤
does the task require unusual characteristics of the 
individual (e.g. strength or height)? It is important 
to remember that the strength and general manual 
handling ability depends on age, gender, state of 
health and fi tness
➤
are employees who might reasonably be considered 
to be pregnant or to have a health problem, put at 
risk by the task? Particular care should be taken to 
protect pregnant women or those who have recently 
given birth from handling loads. Allowance should 
also be given to any employee who has a health 
problem, which could be exacerbated by manual 
handling. 
The assessment must be reviewed if there is reason to 
suspect that it is no longer valid or there has been a sig-
nifi cant change to the manual handling operations to 
which it relates.