DEVELOPMENT OF MANUAL HANDLING ASSESSMENT CHARTS (MAC) FOR HEALTH AND SAFETY INSPECTORS

摘要

A tool has been developed to aid inspectors of health and safety when assessing manual handling operations. It is based on flow charts that guide a non-specialist through assessments of the most important risk factors for single person lifting, carrying and team lifting operations. A 'traffic light' system indicates levels of risk for each factor assessed. The tool was trialled with user groups and reviewed by an ergonomist to ensure consistency with existing HSE guidance and the published literature. It was found to be easy to learn and quick to use. Additional work ensured that the tool was usable and reliable and benchmarked it against existing methods for assessing manual handling. The notebook-format final version has a score sheet and guidance on prioritising tasks for examination. The tool still requires validation against injury data.