Warning: Your browser doesn't support all of the features in
this Web site. Please view our accessibility page for more
details. Manual handling is defined as the "transporting or
supporting of a 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 of unfavourable
ergonomic conditions involves risks, particularly of back
injury, to employees". Because it is a major cause of accidents
in workplaces (typically 33% of all workplace accidents
annually) it is a priority safety issue. Legislation was enacted
in 1993 and updated in 2005/6 which sets down specific
requirements for all forms of manual handling: * to take
appropriate measures to avoid the need for the manual handling
of loads by employees; * where manual handling cannot be
avoided, to take appropriate organisational measures, use or
provide appropriate means to reduce manual handling risks, eg.
provide appropriate equipment, reduce mass of loads, better