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What is Manual Handling Risk Management?
Employers are responsible for providing a healthy and safe environment to people in the workplace. The following information illustrates the workplace obligations of different parties, risk management process, risk identification, risk assessment and risk control of the manual tasks. This can be achieved by identifying and controlling the exposure to any hazard in the workplace and ensuring the persons in the workplace are free from the risk of death, injury or illness caused by workplaces and work tasks.
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Risk Identification
The risk management process includes three steps. The first step is risk identification. In this step, the potential risks should be identified when there are any plans to change the work environment, if there is any indication for potential injury or if an incident or injury has already happened. It is recommended that a company use different techniques to identify the potential problems of the entire manual task.
The risk identification can be undertaken by observing the working postures of the staff, conducting discomfort surveys, undertaking work inspections and walk through surveys, use of checklists to identify risk factors as well as injuries record analysis. After the risk identification, potentially risky jobs will be identified which require further risk assessment.
Risk Assessment
After having identified potentially risky tasks, the second step is risk assessment. The risk assessment includes two parts: task analysis and risk assessment. The task analysis is a process to review the work or process flow of a given manual task and other information closely related to the work practices or the nature of the task. After completion of the task analysis, the analysis results can be summarized. Afterwards, the risk assessment can be undertaken accordingly. As mentioned earlier, repetition, force exertion, working postures and vibration are four main risk factors of manual tasks, the risk assessment is focused on identifying the potential risk of a manual tasks in these aspects. In addition, the work area design and tools used should also be studied.
Risk Control
The third step is risk control. After having identified the association of the risk factors of those manual tasks with musculoskeletal disorders, it is necessary to identify potential control measures. There are different hierarchical levels of consideration for eliminating or minimizing the risk factors.
Firstly, the elimination of the risk factors should be ranked as the most important control measure among all. Secondly, if the elimination is impossible, the prevention or minimization of the exposure to the risk by substituting, redesigning or isolating the hazard should be considered. Depending on the situation, it may be necessary to combine different methods to control the identified risk factors. Finally, if the exposure to the risk cannot be eliminated or minimized, the final solution is implementation of the administrative controls and the use of appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE).
After having developed the control measures, the next step is to implement the controls. In order to obtain the best result, it is recommended that a trial solution should be done before making any permanent changes because it is necessary to assess the effectiveness of the elimination or minimization of the risks and if necessary, make modifications before the control measures are fully implemented in the workplace.
The final step is to evaluate and review implemented controls to make sure the finalized control is implemented as planned and it can achieve to eliminate or minimize the identified risk in the first step of the risk management process.
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MANUAL HANDLING OPERATIONS
(Occupational Safety and Health Regulation, Hong Kong SAR)
Definitions (Part VII):
In this Part-
"further assessment" (進一步評估) means an assessment made in accordance with section 25(1), and includes such an assessment as varied after review in accordance with section 25(3);
"injury" (傷害) does not include an injury attributable to a toxic or corrosive substance that-
(a) has leaked or spilled from a load; or
(b) is present on the surface of a load without having leaked or spilled from the load; or
(c) forms part of a load;
"load" (負荷物) includes a load that comprises or includes any living being;
"manual handling operation" (體力處理操作), in relation to a load, means moving or supporting the load (including lifting, lowering, pushing, pulling and carrying the load) by a person's hands or arms or by some other form of bodily effort;
"preliminary assessment" (初步評估) means an assessment made in accordance with section 23(1) or (2), and includes such an assessment as varied after review in accordance with section 23(4);
"preventive and protective measures" (預防性和保護性措施), in relation to a workplace, means measures that the person responsible for the workplace has, as a result of a preliminary assessment or further assessment or a review of such an assessment, identified as measures that have to be taken in order to comply with the requirements imposed by or under this Part;
"safety and health risks" (關乎安全及健康的危險), in relation to manual handling operations undertaken at a workplace, means risks to the safety and health of employees employed at the workplace who undertake those manual handling operations which have been identified as a result of a preliminary assessment or further assessment, as the case may be.
Responsible person to make preliminary assessment of risks
(1) Before manual handling operations are first undertaken at a workplace after the commencement of this Part, the person responsible for the workplace must ensure that a preliminary assessment is made of the risks to the safety and health of employees employed at the workplace who undertake those manual handling operations.
(2) If manual handling operations were being undertaken at a workplace immediately before the commencement of this Part and those manual handling operations are also undertaken on or after that commencement, the person responsible for the workplace must, within 14 days after that commencement, ensure that a preliminary assessment is made of the risks to the safety and health of employees employed at the workplace who undertake those manual handling operations.
(3) The person responsible for a workplace must conduct a review of a preliminary assessment made in accordance with this section whenever-
(a) that person has reason to believe that the assessment is no longer valid; or
(b) the circumstances in which the assessment was made have significantly changed.
(4) As soon as practicable after reviewing a preliminary assessment in accordance with subsection (3), the person responsible for the workplace must vary the assessment by making such modifications to it as are indicated to be required upon the review.
(5) A person responsible for a workplace who fails to comply with subsection (1), (2), (3) or (4) commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a fine of $200000.
Responsible person to make further assessment of risks
(1) If it is not reasonably practicable for the person responsible for a workplace to avoid the need for employees employed at the workplace to undertake any manual handling operations which may create safety and health risks, that person must, before those manual handling operations are undertaken at the workplace, ensure that a further assessment is made of the risks to the safety and health of those employees having regard to the matters specified in column 1 of Schedule 3 and the questions relating to those matters specified in column 2 of that Schedule.
(2) The person responsible for a workplace must conduct a review of a further assessment made in accordance with this section whenever-
(a) that person has reason to believe that the assessment is no longer valid; or
(b) the circumstances in which the assessment was made have significantly changed.
(3) As soon as practicable after reviewing a further assessment in accordance with subsection (2), the person responsible for the workplace must vary the assessment by making such modifications to it as are indicated to be required upon the review.
(4) A person responsible for a workplace who fails to comply with subsection (1), (2) or (3) commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a fine of $200000.
Responsible person to keep record of assessment of manual handling operations
(1) If 10 or more employees are normally employed at a workplace at any one time to undertake manual handling operations which may create safety and health risks, the person responsible for the workplace must, as soon as practicable after making a preliminary assessment or further assessment, or conducting a review of such an assessment, in accordance with this Part, record-
(a) all significant findings resulting from the assessment or review; and
(b) the particulars of any group of the employer's employees whose safety or health when they are at work is identified as being at risk.
(2) The person responsible for a workplace must ensure that every record made in accordance with subsection (1)-
(a) is kept in a safe place at that person's principal place of business in Hong Kong for a period of not less that 3 years; and
(b) is available for inspection by any occupational safety officer who calls at that place during ordinary business hours.
(3) A person responsible for a workplace who fails to comply with subsection (1) or (2) commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a fine at level 6.
Source: Chapter 509A, s 22-26, OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH REGULATION, Hong Kong SAR
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