Control manual handling

Automated Procedures At least four commercial automated instruments exist which will concentrate headspace volatiles on adsorbents and thermally desorb them into a gas chromatograph. Times, temperatures, and gas flow rates are accurately controlled. Manual handling steps which can introduce variability are eliminated. Since these instruments are automated, sample throughput is enhanced they can be interfaced to high resolution gas chromatographs. 

Bottles have a special surface coating that helps to protect them during handling. For this reason, and because there is better control of secondary fermentation and less manual handling, bottle breakage in a winery is less now (below 0.1 percent) than formerly. 

Manually Controlled Devices Mechanical devices and machines are frequently used to assist handling. For the movement of heavy objects, the need for mechanical assistance is obvious. But even light objects are handled quicker if mechanical devices are used to support the manual handling of objects. The transport of small components can be made more efficient if many are transported together when a large number is required. The mechanical handling devices that are most common in this group are ... 

For this refer to the regulations on manual handling in the piece of OHS legislation under which you work. The key requirements are policy, consultation, design and risk identification, assessment and control. 

The three-stage approach of risk identification, risk assessment and risk control should be used. The control measures agreed on are then the requirements for particular manual handling tasks. 

In other words, if the risk of injury is very small compared to the cost, time and effort required to reduce the risk, then no action is necessary. It is important to note that money, time and trouble must grossly outweigh not balance the risk. This duty requires judgement on the part of the employer (or his adviser) and clearly needs a risk assessment to be undertaken with conclusions noted. Continual monitoring is also required to ensure that risks do not increase. There are numerous examples of this level of duty, including the Manual Handling Operations Regulations and The Control of Substances Hazardous to Health. 

The method statement should take into account the conclusions of risk assessments made under the Management, Control of Substances Hazardous to Health and the Manual Handling Operations Regulations. It can also help other contractors working on a site to understand the effects work will have on them. It can help the principal contractor to draw up the construction phase safety plan. 

The Construction (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1996 deal with the main hazards likely to be found on a construction site. In addition to these specific hazards, there will be the more general hazards (e.g. manual handling, electricity, noise etc) which are discussed in more detail in other chapters. The hazards and controls identified in the Construction Regulations are as follows. 

The handling of kerb stones is one of the main causes of back problems and other musculoskeletal disorders. Standard kerb stones weigh approximately 67 kg and are made of pre-cast concrete. Thus the main hazards associated with the manual handling of kerb stones are the weight of the stones, unsuitable body posture and the frequency and repetitive nature of the work. The risk, therefore, of injury to workers who lay kerb stones by hand is high and employers must address all three hazards. HSE recommends a hierarchy of control measures in their information sheet, CIS No 57, as follows ... 

Training alone will not reduce manual handling injuries-there still needs to be safe systems of work in place and the full implementation of the control measures highlighted in the manual handling assessment. The following topics should be addressed in a manual handling training session ... 

Finally, it needs to be stressed that if injuries involving manual handling operations are to be avoided, planning, control and effective supervision are essential. 

The application of human effort for purposes other than transporting or supporting a load, for example, pulling on a rope to lash down a load or moving a machine control, is not a manual handling operation. A load is a discrete movable object, but it does not include an implement, tool or machine while being used. 

Figure 2.7 From HSG149 Backs for the Future Safe Manual Handling In Construction (HSE Books 2000) ISBN 0717611221. Crown copyright material is reproduced with the permission of the Controller of HMSO and Queen s Printer for Scotland.

Step 3 is to identify the agreed control measures (or remedial achons in the HSE proforma). It may have emerged from the study that the manual handling task can be eliminated. If so the employer has been able to comply with reg. 4(l)(a). This conclusion, however, may not have been reached unhl the assessment study has been completed. 

A description of how people can be harmed if the hazard is not controlled. For example, the majority of manual handling injuries occur to the lower back, the shoulder, or the wrist/forearm. Knowing this helps to focus on the risk factors. 

OSHA 2006). In Australia, the Australian Safety and Compensation Council (ASCC) is responsible for the development and oversight of OSH policy. The National Code of Practice for the Control of Worlqilace Hazardous Substances (NOHSC 2007 (1994)) and the Adopted National Exposure Standards for Atmospheric Contaminants in the Occupational Environment (NOHSC 1003 (1995)) is similar to COSHH, and Manual Handling is covered under National Standard for Manual Handling (NOHSC 1001 (1990)) and National Code of Practice for Manual Handling (NOHSC 2005 (1990)). 

Schedules cargo operations are difficult to define because they vary depending on the sender or recipient, traffic conditions, etc., although this time the service should be as short as possible. Therefore, previous planning manual handling is often very difficult, if not impossible, due to random factors beyond the control of the operator terminal. To transfer the containers in the number... 

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