Manual handling is present in nearly every workplace in one form or another. With manual handling being the leading cause of musculoskeletal disorders at work, it’s important to know how much you can safely lift, and use good handling techniques. In this blog post, we look at why it is important to think LITE.
LITE = Load, Individual, Task, Environment. These four elements will help you to assess various considerations about the activity and the risks involved.
Manual handling is the leading cause of musculoskeletal disorders at work. And if you want to avoid being one of the 498,000 workers suffering from a work-related musculoskeletal disorder, it’s important to know how much you can safely lift, and use good handling techniquesBut when many people think about manual handling, they often just think about the maximum weight they can lift. But there is so much more to consider before you lift, carry, push or pull something. One of the important requirements under the Manual Handling Operations Regulations is to assess the risk. And yes, weight is one of the things you should assess. But in this blog post, we’re going to look at other considerations that should also be included in your assessment.
Manual Handling Regulations
According to the Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992 (MHOR), manual handling is defined as
“…any transporting or supporting of a load, including the lifting, putting down, pushing, pulling, carrying or moving by hand or bodily force.”
Many manual handling accidents involve muscular sprains or strains, most commonly to the lower back. Less common, but no less serious injuries, involve cuts and fractures. These are typically because of being crushed or hit by loads or equipment involved in manual handling tasks.
Due to the risk of injuries, all employers have a legal duty to risk assess any foreseeable manual handling hazards. This risk assessment must be adequate given the nature of the work.
To help people assess the risk factors associated with manual handling tasks, the LITE Manual Handling process was devised by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).
What Are the 4 Key Areas of Manual Handling?
There are 4 key areas known as LITE in Manual Handling:
Load
This means considering the object or person that is being moved, and looking at how this may affect health and safety. For example, is the load particularly heavy, bulky, hard to grasp or unstable?
Task
This means considering the manual handling activity itself, i.e. the lifting, lowering, carrying, pushing or pulling, and looking at how it may affect your health and safety. For example, does the task involve repetitive movements, strenuous movements, long distances, or uneven weight distribution?
Individual
This means considering the person who will be carrying out the manual handling activity. For example, how strong, fit or able is the person? Are they capable of manual handling alone? Do they need assistance?
Environment
This means considering the area in which the load is being moved and looking at how this could make the manual handling task unsafe. For example, are there any space constraints? Is the floor slippery or uneven? Is there sufficient lighting? Are there any trip hazards?
The acronym LITE can be used to develop risk assessments in an extremely efficient manner, ensuring safe manual handling procedures within your workplace.
If you would like to have your employees competently trained in safe manual handling training. here at Phoenix Emergency Response Consultancy, we can provide good quality training in manual handling techniques, principles and looking at regulation requirements.
