OHS guidelines on lifting

According to WorkSafe Victoria, the most common injuries related to manual lifting, as shown by injury claims, are:

• Back (48%) — muscle strain and disc injury from lifting objects (eg, boxes, cartons, crates, bags, drums), powered tools, equipment and other materials.
• Shoulder (17%) — traumatic joint/muscle injury and strain from lifting objects and repetitively handling objects or other materials.
• Abdomen (16%) — hernias from heavy and/or awkward lifting.
• Arm (8%) — traumatic joint/muscle injury and strain from lifting objects, equipment or other materials.
• Neck (4%) — muscle strain as a result of lifting and putting down boxes, cartons, crates, bales and heavy bags.
• Leg (3%) — traumatic joint/muscle injury and strain from lifting heavy objects.

To minimise the incidence of these injuries in manual handling occupations, typically found in the manufacturing, construction and public and community services sectors, WorkSafe expects employers to have safety solutions in place to protect workers from injuries related to lifting. Listed below are some common solutions, recommended by WorkSafe, that are proven to reduce the risk of injury from lifting.

All workplaces
Lifting objects from the ground or from a low level is the most common cause of lifting-related injuries. The essential principles for reducing risk of injury from lifting apply across industry:

• Eliminate lifting by using technological solutions (eg, robotics, cranes, bulk supply systems).
• Reduce lifting by increasing the size of objects and using mechanical aids instead of lifting by hand.
• Don’t lift objects from ground, floor or low level, as far as is reasonably practicable.
• Reduce the need to lift objects by locating and storing objects at waist height.
• Minimise the impact of lifting by reducing size and weight of objects to be lifted, while ensuring that a reduction in the size of the load doesn’t increase the frequency of lifting.

Manufacturing sector

• Eliminate lifting by providing and using robotics and cranes to lift large or heavy objects or equipment.
• Use suction systems with bulk supply of product, so heavy items don’t need to be lifted.
• Provide and use bulk supply bags, bins and containers and move them by forklift or other mechanical aids.
• Provide and use self-height adjusting and rotating pallet lifters to keep work at waist height.
• Reduce lifting by keeping loading and unloading tasks at waist height.
• Use forklifts or powered mechanical aid attachments to lift large awkward objects.
• If items need to be manually lifted, provide containers with suitable hand grips.

Construction sector

• Eliminate lifting by job planning to use cranes, hoists and materials lifts.
• Reduce lifting by providing and using vehicle-mounted cranes, hoists, davits and powered tailgates to load and unload equipment such as cement mixers, materials and large, heavy and awkward objects, such as equipment tool boxes, to and from vehicles.
• Purchase materials in bulk so that they have to be mechanically lifted.
• Ask for smaller sizes when ordering materials (eg, 20 kg instead of 40 kg cement bags).
• Store items at waist height if it’s not reasonably practicable to use bulk materials or to mechanically handle objects that need to be lifted.

Public and community services sectors

• Manual lifting of people should not occur except in an emergency.
• Eliminate lifting of aged care residents, patients or other dependent persons by designing facilities with sufficient space for mechanical aids, or use overhead tracking and hoists to lift dependent patients.
• Reduce lifting by providing and using electric height-adjusting patient beds and trolleys, mobile patient hoists and standing lifters.
• Use self-height adjusting bin inserts in mobile tubs and laundry trolleys.
• Use adjustable height trolleys in catering, office, mortuary and medical supply departments, as well as in wards, day rooms, canteens, cleaning and other service areas.
• Order materials in bulk and use mechanical aids.