Manual handling and confined spaces

Avoid the lift, then reduce it

First consider whether hazardous manual handling can reasonably be avoided, perhaps by changing the delivery point or using suitable powered handling equipment. If it cannot, assess the task and reduce the risk. Smaller loads, a planned team lift or a suitable aid may help. A trolley can remove a carry while still leaving pushing, pulling and loading risks to assess.

The TILE factors

A manual handling assessment looks at four groups of factors, often remembered as TILE:

• Task: the reach, twisting, distance and frequency the job involves.
• Individual: the person's strength, health, training and any condition such as pregnancy.
• Load: the item's weight, bulk, grip and stability.
• Environment: the space, floor surface, lighting and weather around the lift.

A cramped landing, a slippery floor or poor lighting can turn an ordinary lift into a dangerous one even when the item itself is not especially heavy.

HSE's guideline weights

HSE's leaflet gives a simple filter of guideline weights for lifting and lowering, set by where the hands are and whether the load is held close or at arm's length. The highest figures apply with the load close to the body between knuckle and elbow height: 25 kg for men and 16 kg for women. They fall when the arms are extended (15 kg for men in that same zone) and when lifting above the shoulder or down towards the floor. The Manual Handling Regulations set no weight limits, so these are not legal or safe limits: they pick out lifts where the risk is low. A lift outside the filter, one with twisting, a team lift, or lifting more often than once every two minutes needs a more detailed assessment. If the hands pass through more than one zone during a lift, use the smallest of those zones' figures, or an in-between figure close to a boundary. The same figures can be used for carrying a load held against the body for up to about 10 m without resting, or about 20 m for a load that can be slid securely onto the shoulder. Pushing or pulling is likely to be low risk with the hands between hip and shoulder height, the body upright and not twisted, and no more than about 20 m moved without a pause. Handling while seated has lower figures: 5 kg for men and 3 kg for women.

Good lifting technique

Check the route and the load before starting. Keep the load close and begin with a small bend through the back, hips and knees; avoid both a deep squat and a fully stooped lift. Keep the load moving smoothly without increasing the bend in your back as it rises. Turn by moving your feet, not twisting under load. For a heavy radiator or cylinder, choose suitable assistance or equipment through the assessment, including whether it can be used safely on stairs.

Confined spaces

A confined space is enclosed or largely enclosed and presents a reasonably foreseeable specified serious risk. Examples include loss of consciousness from too little oxygen or excessive heat, harm from toxic gas or fire, drowning, and engulfment by free-flowing solids. A tank or chamber is assessed by its conditions and contents, not just the size of its entrance.

Do the work from outside where reasonably practicable. If entry is necessary, plan a safe system with suitable people, isolation, communication and effective rescue arrangements before anyone enters. Select atmospheric testing, ventilation, permits and other controls to match the risks. An open cover or a fan does not make entry safe, and an unplanned rescue can put another person in danger.

Drain gas and trenches

Drains, sewers and chambers can hold hydrogen sulphide, a colourless, flammable gas that smells of rotten eggs and is heavier than air, so it gathers low down. Its smell is a poor warning: UKHSA says that above about 100 ppm it can paralyse the sense of smell, so a smell that fades is no sign the gas has gone. UK workplace exposure limits are 5 ppm over a long period and 10 ppm over a short one, and about 500 ppm and above may be fatal.

An excavation is inspected by a competent person at the start of each shift, and again after any event that may have affected its strength or stability or after a fall of rock or earth; the inspections are recorded and faults put right straight away. Its sides can collapse without warning, and a cubic metre of soil can weigh more than 1.5 tonnes. Keep petrol or diesel engines, such as generators and compressors, out of an excavation and away from its edge, where their exhaust gases can collect. Check what a trench could undermine before digging it: many garden and boundary walls have very shallow foundations that even a small trench can undermine, bringing the wall down onto anyone working in it, so decide beforehand whether the wall needs support.