Two New Health and Safety Guidance Publications have been published this month for Risk Assessment and Manual Handling.

Risk assessment of pushing and pulling (RAPP) tool

Who is this guidance for?

This new tool is aimed at those responsible for health and safety in workplaces – employers, managers and safety representatives.

Key messages

 - This tool will help you identify high-risk pushing and pulling operations and check the effectiveness of any risk-reduction measures.

 - There are two types of pulling and pushing operations you can assess using this tool:

       - moving loads on wheeled equipment, such as hand trolleys, pump trucks, carts or wheelbarrows;
       -  moving loads without wheels, which might involve actions such as dragging/sliding, churning (pivoting and rolling) and rolling.

For each type of assessment there is a flow chart, an assessment guide and a score sheet. The flow charts provide an overview of the risk factors and assessment process, while the assessment guides provide information to help you determine the level of risk for each factor.

Download the guidance at http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/indg478.htm

Manual handling - Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992 - Guidance on Regulations

Who is this guidance for?

This guidance is mainly for employers, managers and safety representatives, but may also be useful for employees.

Key messages

 - Employers must comply with the Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992, as amended by the Health and Safety (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 2002.

 - The guidance explains how to avoid, assess and reduce the risk of injury from manual handling.

Changes since the last edition

 - The publication has been restructured into four parts, with the regulations and brief guidance in Part 1 and more detailed guidance to help carry out risk assessments and control risks in Parts

 - The appendix contains risk filters which help identify those tasks that do not require a detailed assessment. It explains how HSE’s assessment tools can be used as part of the risk assessment process.

 - The full risk assessment checklists are now online only and do not appear in the book.

 - It reflects changes introduced for the self-employed by the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 (General Duties of Self-Employed Persons) (Prescribed Undertakings) Regulations 2015 and the Deregulation Act 2015 (Health and Safety at Work)(General Duties of Self-Employed Persons) (Consequential Amendments) Order 2015.

Download the guidance at http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/books/l23.htm