Safety Facts:

Manual Material Handling*

Manual materials handling is handling items by If the worker: Health impacts of manual material handling:
lifting, lowering, pushing, pulling, carrying, holding, • Is not trained and uses poor lifting techniques Injuries resulting from manual material handling can
or restraining. It is the most common cause of • Moves material over long distances affect any body part — such as shoulder, neck, arms,
occupational fatigue and lower back injuries. Three • Lifts or handles more than they can control safely elbows, hands, and legs. The immediate and short-term
quarters of Canadians whose job includes manual effects can be:
• Is not encouraged to take appropriate rest break
handling suffer from back injury at some point. • Accidental injury and fatigue
• Has a combination of handling tasks
Many are unable to return to their jobs and some • Wounds (bruises and cuts)
are permanently disabled. • Wears clothing that restricts movement or
• Back injuries
reduces grip strength
Key characteristics of hazard The effects of fatigue can also contribute to serious
While modern industry is more automated, we still If at the facility there are:
and chronic injuries — including disabling back injury
perform manual tasks. • Walking surfaces that are uneven, sloping, wet,
and pain. Recovery from back injuries can take a long
icy, slippery, unsteady, etc.
time and there is always a risk of further injury, making
The risks of manual material handling depend on what • Poor housekeeping that causes slip, trip and fall hazards
the problem worse.
the task is, how the task is performed and what the
• Poor lighting
conditions are at the workplace. Preventative next steps
• Environmental conditions
The following scenarios could be hazardous: • Working at high pace □ Refer to legislative guidelines and create
If the material is: • Space is small or posture is constrained or both workplace policy
• Too heavy
□ Train employees on safe lifting techniques
• Too high or low for a safe lift Associated risks
□ Perform regularly job-task analysis and risk
Fatigue is a common and expected effect of manual
• A shape that makes it hard to handle assessments
materials handling as manual energy is required to
• Hard to grasp □ Evaluate your ergonomics occupational
perform the task.
• Unstable health and safety program
• Too big to let you see where □ Consider engineering improvements
you are putting your feet □ Try administrative improvements (e.g. job rotation,
micro-breaks)
□ Evaluate PPE and clothing

For additional resources visit:

WorkSafeBC: Lifting calculator Manufacturing Safety Alliance of BC: safetyalliancebc.ca
CCOHS | NIOSH | OSHA

For more information visit us online at safetyalliancebc.ca

Manual Material Handling
Toolbox Talk
Name of Facilitator: Date: Key Talking Points

Supervisor Signature: Date: What is MSI control plan at your facility?

Do you encourage your worker report MSI early on?

Safety Specific Training Requirements: Identified Hazards/concerns
Is there a return to work policy/plan after MSI?

What is manual material handling?

Risks of manual material handling

Safe handling techniques

Manual material handling controls

Employee feedback/questions/recommendations

Workers who attended

Name Initial Name Initial

For more information contact us or visit us online at safetyalliancebc.ca

For more information visit us online at safetyalliancebc.ca