What makes manual lifting hazardous?

There are several risk factors that may increase the occurrence of injury from manual lifting . These factors are related to the different characteristics of the load, the task and organization of the work, the work environment and the worker

The load, which may be:

too heavy – There is no exact weight limit that is safe. A weight of 25 kg is heavy to lift for most people, especially if the load is handled several times in an hour
too large – if the load is large, it is not possible to follow the basic rules for lifting and carrying — to keep the load as close to the body as possible; thus, the muscles will get tired more rapidly; moreover, the shape or size may obscures the worker’s view, thus increasing the risk of slipping, tripping or falling
unbalanced or unstable objects or if the contents can move make it difficult to hold the center of gravity of the load close to the middle of body; this leads to uneven loading of muscles and fatigue; moreover, liquid causes uneven loading of the muscles and sudden movements of the load can make the worker lose their balance and fall
difficult to grasp: this can result in the object slipping and causing an accident; loads with sharp edges or with dangerous materials can injure workers. Gloves usually make the grasping more difficult than with bare hands. Providing the objects with handles or using aids for gripping (e.g. when carrying plate material) reduces the load on the worker.

The task and organization of the work, if it requires:

awkward postures or movements, e.g. a bent and/or twisted trunk, raised arms, bent wrists, over-reaching
a high frequency or repetition with insufficient recovery periods;
a high rate of work, which cannot be influenced by the worker
unstable loads or loads handled with the body in an unstable posture.

The work environment, if it has:

insufficient room, in particular vertically, to carry out the activity; this may lead to awkward postures
uneven floors, thus presenting tripping hazards, is unstable or is slippery in relation to the worker’s footwear
bad position of the load or work place design, causing reaching with the arms, bending or twisting the trunk and elevated arms yield high muscular force
variations floor levels or in working surface, requiring the load to be manipulated on different levels
unsuitable temperature, humidity or ventilation, making workers feel tired; sweat makes it hard to hold tools, meaning that more force must be used; cold can make hands numb, making it hard to grip
insufficient lighting, increasing the risk of accidents, or force workers into awkward positions to see clearly what they are doing.

Individual characteristics, such as:

lack of experience, training and familiarity with the job
age: the risk of low back disorders increases with age and with the number of years at work
physical dimensions and capacity such as height, weight and strength
prior history of musculoskeletal disorders, in particular back disorders.

Moreover, manual handling of heavy loads can cause injuries if the load suddenly hits the worker or causes slipping or falling. Handling of smaller loads for a long time without rest can result in fatigue. For a tired person loads can become too heavy after hours of handling, resulting in faulty movements, and the risk of injuries and disorders will increase.

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