Health & Safety FAQ
Carrying Weights
What is the maximum weight that people are permitted to lift
or carry?
The Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992 set no specific
weight limits. An ergonomic assessment based on a range of relevant
factors should be used to determine the risk of injury from any
particular manual handling task and point the way to remedial
action.
The following hierarchy of control measures should be considered
in relation to manual handling operations:
- Avoid hazardous manual handling operations so far as is
reasonably practicable, for example by redesigning the task to
avoid moving the load or by automating or mechanising the
process.
- Make a suitable and sufficient assessment of any hazardous
manual handling operations that cannot be avoided.
- Reduce the risk of injury from those operations so far as is
reasonably practicable. Where possible, you should provide
mechanical assistance, for example a sack trolley or hoist. Where
this is not reasonably practicable, look at ways of changing the
task, the load and working environment.
Adopting the ergonomic approach is recommended to remove or
reduce the risk of manual handling injury. Ergonomics is sometimes
described as "fitting the job to the person, rather than the person
to the job". The ergonomic approach looks at manual handling as a
whole. It takes into account a range of relevant factors, including
the nature of the task, the load, the working environment and
individual capability.