FAQs - Toolkit

What is the toolkit?

Answer: The Toolkit is a collection of tools that have been developed by HSE to help employers and employees to identify common risk factors covering manual handling operations including lifting and carrying, pushing and pulling and repetitive tasks. The tools have been designed to help assessors to break down tasks, identify elements that could pose a risk to workers and evaluate potential solutions or improvements.

What is the Manual Handling Assessment Chart (MAC Tool) and how can I use it?

Answer: The MAC Tool helps to identify high-risk manual handling activities. The MAC is suitable for use by employers, employees and their representatives in any sized organisation.  The MAC is not appropriate for all manual handling operations, and so may not comprise a full 'suitable and sufficient' risk assessment if relied on alone. A risk assessment will normally need to take account of additional factors such as an individual's ability to carry out the task e.g. whether they have any health problems or need for special information or training. The guidance on the Manual Handling Operational Regulations 1992 set out in detail the requirements of an assessment. People with knowledge and experience of the handling operations, industry specific guidance and specialist advice, may also help in completing an assessment.
Check the Health and Safety Executive website – MAC Tool

If a manual handling task involves lifting and then carrying - what should I assess and how do the scores work?

Answer: Ideally both, but after some experience of using the MAC you should be able to judge which of the task elements poses the greater risk. The total scores should be used to assist the assessor with their prioritisation of remedial actions. The scores provide an indication of which manual handling tasks require attention first.  The scores can also be used as a way of evaluating potential improvements. The most effective improvements will bring about the highest reduction in the score.

What is the Assessment of Repetitive Tasks (ART) Tool and how can I use it?

Answer: The ART Tool is designed to help assess tasks that require repetitive movement of the upper limbs (arms and hands). It assists in assessing some of the common risk factors in repetitive work that contribute to the development of Upper Limb Disorders (ULDs). The ART tool is intended for people with responsibility for the design, assessment, management, and inspection of repetitive work. Repetitive tasks are typically found in assembly, production, processing, packaging, packing and sorting work, as well as work involving regular use of hand tools. The ART tool uses a numerical score and a traffic lights approach to indicate the level of risk for specific factors.
Check the Health and Safety Executive website -  ART Tool

What is the Push/Pull tool?

Answer: The push pull tool is an additional element of the manual handling task; it can be used to analyse tasks that involve pushing or pulling items whether they have been loaded onto a trolley or mechanical aid or where they are being pushed/pulled across a surface.

The push pull tool is less refined in its workings and works on an assessment of high, medium or low risk rather than a scoring system.

 Check the HSE website – Push/Pull

What is 'labelling loads and what do I have to do?

Answer: Regulation 4 of the Manual Handling Operations Regulations (MHOR) requires employers to take appropriate steps to provide general indications and, where it is reasonably practicable to do so, precise information on the weight of each load, and the heaviest side of any load whose centre of gravity is not positioned centrally.
The first step required by the Regulations is that employers should, as far as reasonably practicable, avoid the need for their employees to carry out manual handling operations that involve a risk of injury. If this is not reasonably practicable then the risks to employees of the manual handling operations carried out in the normal course of their work should be assessed and reduced.
To meet the provisions of Regulation 4 you:

• only need to label a load if there is a risk of injury and it is reasonably practicable to do so.
• do not have to provide this information if the effort involved in doing so would be much greater than any health and safety benefits that might result.
• should reduce risky manual handling operations by providing lifting aids, splitting loads and telling people not to carry several items at once.
• could ask manufacturers and suppliers to mark weights (and, if relevant, information about the heaviest side) on loads if this can be done easily.