HSE Update on Manual Handling, Noise and Health Surveillance Inspections
As part of their 10-Year strategy published in 2022, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) have announced this year that the key inspections focus for the next couple of years will be on manual handling, noise and health surveillance (including mental health).
As an employer, you must protect your workers from the risk of injury and ill health from hazardous manual handling tasks in the workplace. This leaflet will help you do that. It includes simple risk filters to help you identify which manual handling activities are hazardous.
Manual handling means transporting or supporting a load by hand or bodily force. It includes lifting, lowering, pushing, pulling, moving or carrying a load. A load is a moveable object, such as a box or package, a person or an animal, or something being pushed or pulled, such as a roll cage or pallet truck.
For full details click on the Manual Handling title above.
The Control of Noise at Work Regulations 2005 (the Noise Regulations) came into force for all industry sectors in Great Britain on 6 April 2006 (except for the music and entertainment sectors where they came into force on 6 April 2008).
The aim of the Noise Regulations is to ensure that workers' hearing is protected from excessive noise at their place of work, which could cause them to lose their hearing and/or to suffer from tinnitus (permanent ringing in the ears).
For further details click on the Noise title above.
Health Survellience (inc Mental Health)
Health surveillance is not the same as health monitoring, health promotion or health screening. It:
- should only be used for workers who need it
- provides feedback about actions you may need to take to prevent further harm and protect workers
- allows workers to raise concerns about how work affects their health
- provides the opportunity to reinforce workers’ training and education
You can find full details by clicking on the Health Surveillance title above.
Author
David Moss
Project management and technical projects. Areas include animal feed, feed adviser register, stakeholder management and health & safety. Secretariat for a number of feed sector committees including the UKFFPA (United Kingdom Former Foodstuffs Processors Association).
