Case Studies - Improving 'Team Lifting'

The dangers of lifting are well-recognised and most employers and employees should be aware of the risk factors associated with picking up heavy weights. Less well known, however, are the risks of 'team lifting' - for example, when two or more people pick up a large item such as a stretcher or a bale of cloth.

In fact, in comparison with individual lifting relatively little scientific research has been done in this field, the assumption being that when two or more people lift an object the risks are lower. But is this really true? And what are the best techniques when two or more people share the load? These are vital questions because team lifting affects a wide range of occupational groups including, for example, people in the health service, the fire service and those who work in warehouses and the construction industry.

HSL has a purpose-built biomechanics laboratory which has been used to investigate manual handling in teams and in complex postures. A wide-ranging study was undertaken to identify the major risk factors involved in two-person lifting. Factors such as the effect of differing heights of the two lifters, the position of the lifters' hands and the load position were investigated.

The outcome of this work was the publication of new guidance on team lifting by HSE, plus the inclusion of a section on team lifting in the Manual Handling Assessment Charts published by HSE on its website (www.hse.gov.uk).

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