People handling
People handling relates to workplace activities in which people are physically moved, supported or restrained. People handling requires someone to use force in order to lift, lower, push, pull or slide another person.
All people handling tasks are a potential source of injury, and associated risks should be assessed and managed.
No worker should fully lift a person, other than a small child, without assistance from mechanical aids, devices or another worker.
Consider the health and safety of both the person doing the handling and the person being handled. Also consider that the person being handled may increase the risk of injury to the worker by his/her:
- physical characteristics (weight or size)
- state of arousal (consciousness)
- unpredictable behaviour
- willingness to assist
- ability to communicate and understand
- desire to preserve dignity and privacy.
Ways to control hazards
- Use mechanical aids, assistive devices (grab rails and pull ropes) slide sheets or other repositioning aids where possible/appropriate.
- Use grab belts or walking frames (where a person is supported by one hand only).
- If the environment is cramped, move the person to a roomier, more suitable place to perform the task.
- Conduct a mobility assessment, then modify or accommodate the characteristics of the person being handled.
- Where special handling is needed, assess the person’s needs and avoid double handling.
- Provide an adequate number of workers where there are difficulties involved in handling a person.
- Plan how to handle a person attached to medical or other equipment.
More information on the handling procedures for people handling is provided in the Manual Tasks Involving the Handling of People Advisory Standard 2001 (now known as a Code of Practice).
Last updated 21 August 2008
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