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Thank you for your enquiry regarding taxis for disabled persons. The HSE has not produced any specific guidelines relating to procedures forputting wheelchair passengers in taxis. The Manual Handling OperationsRegulation 1992 (as amended) do not give a maximum lifting, pulling orpushing weight for such tasks. However they do state under Regulation 4,Employers Duties that: (1) Each employer shall - (a) so far as is reasonably practicable, avoid the need for his employeesto undertake any manual handling operations at work which involve a risk totheir being injured. (1) Each employer shall – (b) where it is not reasonably practicable to avoid the need for hisemployees to undertake any manual handling operations at work which involvea risk of their being injured – (i) make a suitable and sufficient assessment of all such manual handlingoperations to be undertaken by them. (ii) take appropriate steps to reduce the risk of injury to those employeesarising out of their undertaking any such manual handling operations to thelowest level reasonably practicable, and (iii) take appropriate steps to provide any of those employees who areundertaking any such manual handling operations with general indicationsand, where it is reasonably practicable to do so, precise information on – (aa) the weight of each load, and (bb) the heaviest side of any load whose centre of gravity is notpositioned centrally. The guidance to the regulation states that: The Regulations should not be considered in isolation. Regulation 3(1) ofthe Management Regulations 1999 requires employers to make a suitable andsufficient assessment of the risks to the health and safety of theiremployees while at work. Where this general assessment indicates thepossibility of risks to employees from the manual handling of loads, therequirements of the Manual Handling Operations Regulations should becomplied with. The Regulations set out a hierarchy of measures which should be followed toreduce the risks from manual handling. These are set out in regulation 4(1)and are as follows: (a) avoid hazardous manual handling operations so far as is reasonablypracticable; (b) assess any hazardous manual handling operations that cannot beavoided; and (c) reduce the risk of injury so far as is reasonably practicable. Avoiding manual handling If the general assessment carried out under regulation 3(1) of theManagement Regulations indicates a possibility of injury from manualhandling operations, the first thing to consider is whether the manualhandling operation can be avoided altogether. It may not be necessary toassess the risk in great detail, particularly if the operations can easilybe avoided or the appropriate steps to reduce any risk of injury to thelowest level reasonably practicable are obvious. Elimination of handling When trying to avoid manual handling the first questions to ask are whetherthe load/s need to be handled at all, or could the work be done in adifferent way? For example, can a process such as machining or wrapping becarried out in situ, without handling the loads? Can a treatment be broughtto a patient rather than taking the patient to the treatment? Automation or mechanisation If, so far as is reasonably practicable, handling of the load cannot beavoided, then can the operation/s be either:(a) automated; or(b) mechanised? The guidance states the following regarding pushing and pulling loads: Most pushing and pulling workplace activities are introduced as a way ofreducing manual handling, for example eliminating carrying by loading goodsonto a trolley. However, lifting, lowering and carrying, pushing orpulling a load can harm the handler. The majority of injuries resultingfrom pushing and pulling activities affect the back, neck and shoulders.Entrapment injuries are also common. Approximately two-thirds of push/pullaccidents involve objects that are not supported on wheels, for example,furniture or bales of wool. Points to consider when reducing the risks from pushing and pullinginclude: (a) the length of the route. Is this as short as possible?(b) the number of journeys. Would it be safer to make repeated journeysrather than a few demanding ones?(c) how demanding the work is;(d) whether the route is clear of obstacles, including doorways;(e) whether the floor surface is well maintained;(f) whether the task involves negotiating kerbs, steps or slopes. Full useshould be made of ramps etc. The initial forces used to overcome the object's inertia when starting orchanging direction are usually higher than the sustained forces used tokeep the object moving and should therefore be kept to a minimum. Frequentstarting, stopping and manoeuvring should be avoided, as should jerkymovements and high sustained forces. The risk of injury is also increasedif pushing or pulling is carried out with the hands much below waist heightor above shoulder height. Being able to adopt a comfortable, stableposture is important and twisted or bent postures should be avoided. Additionally, when pushing and pulling forces are transmitted from thehandler's feet to the floor, the risk of slipping and consequent injury ismuch greater. For this reason, pushing or pulling a load in circumstanceswhere the grip between foot and floor is poor -- whether through thecondition of the floor, footwear or both -- is likely to increase the riskof injury significantly. Guidelines for pushing and pulling For pushing and pulling operations (whether the load is slid, rolled orsupported on wheels) the guideline figures assume the force is applied withthe hands, between knuckle and shoulder height. It is also assumed thatthe distance involved is no more than about 20 m. If these assumptions arenot met, a more detailed risk assessment is required (see the push/pullchecklist in Appendix 4). |-----------------------+-------------------+-------------------|| | MEN | WOMEN || | | ||-----------------------+-------------------+-------------------|| Guideline figure for | 20 kg | 15 kg || stopping or starting a| (ie about 200 | (ie about 150 || load | newtons) | newtons) ||-----------------------+-------------------+-------------------|| Guideline figure for | 10 kg | 7 kg || keeping the load in | (ie about 100 | (ie about 70 || motion | newtons) | newtons) ||-----------------------+-------------------+-------------------| As a rough guide the amount of force that needs to be applied to move aload over a flat, level surface using a well-maintained handling aid is atleast 2% of the load weight. For example, if the load weight is 400 kg,then the force needed to move the load is 8 kg. The force needed will belarger, perhaps a lot larger, if conditions are not perfect (eg wheels notin the right position or a device that is poorly maintained). Moving anobject over soft or uneven surfaces also requires higher forces. On anuneven surface, the force needed to start the load moving could increase to10% of the load weight, although this might be offset to some extent byusing larger wheels. Pushing and pulling forces will also be increased ifworkers have to negotiate a slope or ramp. Even where the guideline figuresare met, a detailed risk assessment will be necessary if risk factors suchas uneven floors, confined spaces, or trapping hazards are present. There is no specific limit to the distance over which the load is pushed orpulled as long as there are adequate opportunities for rest or recovery.Refer to the push/pull checklist (see Appendix 4) if you are unsure andcarry out a detailed risk assessment. Appendix 4 Examples of assessment checklists for lifting and carrying andpushing and pulling 1 A suitable and sufficient risk assessment is required when hazardousmanual handling is unavoidable. The assessment should identify where therisk lies and identify an appropriate range of ideas for reducing thepotential for injury. A checklist can help with this process by applying asystematic examination of all the potential risk elements. To ensure thatthe assessment covers all potential risks the workforce should be fullyinvolved in the risk assessment process. 2 Examples of basic checklists for lifting and carrying and pushing andpulling are included in this appendix. Their use will help to highlightthe overall level of risk involved and identify how the job may be modifiedto reduce the risk of injury and make it easier to do. It will also beuseful in helping to prioritise the remedial actions needed. Thechecklists may be copied freely or may be used to help design your ownassessment checklist. 3 The following notes are intended to help you complete the checklist.(a) SECTION A: DESCRIBE the job. There is space available for a diagramto be drawn to summarise the task in a picture, as well as for a writtendescription.(b) SECTION B: TICK the level of risk you believe to be associated witheach of the items on the list. Space is provided for noting the precisenature of the problem and for suggestions about the remedial action thatmay be taken. It may also be useful to write down the names of therelevant people or groups in your organisation who you will wish to consultabout implementing the remedial steps, for example managers, workforcetrainers, maintenance personnel or engineers and relevant employees ortheir safety representatives. If you are assessing a lifting, carrying or team-handling operation andneed help in judging the level of risk, you can consider using the MAC(Appendix 5) to help you decide the risk levels to be entered in Section Bof the checklist. Some tasks may involve more than one operator, each with a different levelof risk, depending on the exact nature of their duties. If you wish to usethe same checklist for all of the operators involved, you can allocate anumber (or other identifying mark) to each and use that against each tick.Alternatively you can use a separate checklist for each operator.(c) DECIDE whether the overall risk of injury is low, medium or high. Thiswill help to prioritise remedial action if you have a large number of riskassessments to carry out. Ring the appropriate word at the bottom ofSection A after you have completed Section B.(d) SECTION C: SUMMARISE the remedial steps that should be taken, in orderof priority. The assessor's name, the name of the person responsible forcarrying out any remedial action and the date by which such action shouldbe completed should be recorded. Only once such action has been takenshould the final column be completed. It may also be useful to enter thetarget date for reassessment if this is appropriate. Remember to checkthat any actions taken have the desired effect. 4 When all the manual handling tasks have been assessed, the completedchecklists can be compared to help prioritise the most urgent actions.However, there are likely to be several ways to reduce the risks identifiedand some will be more effective than others. Action on those that can beimplemented easily and quickly should not be delayed simply because theymay be less effective than others. 5 A check should be carried out at a later date to ensure that the remedialaction to remove or reduce the risk of injury has been effective. 6 Worked examples of risk assessments are included to show how thechecklists might be used in practice. 7 The purpose of the checklists is to help bring out a range of ideas onhow the risks identified can be avoided or reduced by making modificationsto the load, the task, and the working environment. Many suggestions forreducing risks in particular situations are given in the text of thisbooklet. There are also a number of people who may be able to help withsuggestions, for example safety representatives, the quality managementteam within the organisation, and relevant trade associations. There isalso a great deal of other published information about risk-reductionmethods
Anunreadablepostabitofspacingbetweenwordssentencesandparagraphsbasicpunctuationwouldreallyreallyhelp
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