ABSTRACT
Until a few years ago, accidents caused by the manual handling of loads were the largest single cause of over three-day accidents reported to the HSE. The Manual Handling Operations Regulations recognized this fact and helped to reduce the number of these accidents. However, accidents due to poor manual handling technique still accounts for over 25% of all reported accidents and in some occupational sectors, such as the health service, the fi gure rises above 50%. An understanding of the factors causing some of these accidents is essential if they are to be further reduced. Mechanical handling methods should always be used whenever possible, but they are not without their hazards, many of which are outlined in Chapter 9 and later in Chapter 10.
