A high price to pay
According to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) in their 2021/22 report, a disturbing 18% of all non-fatal industrial accidents are caused by handling, lifting or carrying processes.
In the hygienic industries Teknomek services, particularly the food industry, manual handling through production areas, warehouses and dispatch make up a large portion of the daily workflow. With this in mind, the above stats are a real cause for concern.
Mitigating the risks
Employers are tasked with implementing measures to mitigate these types of accidents and injuries, including:
- Avoiding hazardous manual handling operations, ‘so far as reasonably practicable’
- Assessing the risk of injury to workers from any hazardous manual handling that can’t be avoided
- Reduce the risk of injury to workers from hazardous manual handling to as low as reasonably practicable.
The hierarchy of controls for manual handling (see above) are used to help implement the HSE measures by providing a way of determining which actions will best control exposures. The heirarchy of controls have five levels of actions to reduce or remove hazards and use of the heirarchy can lower worker exposures and reduce risk of illness or injury.
With particular focus on Engineering controls, effective handling equipment can ensure minimal user input and remove or block hazards before they come into contact with the worker. For instance, Platform trucks with adjustable mesh panels can remove the need for physical handling of payloads.
The HSE regulations for manual handling even go so far as to show the correct lifting and lowering heights for male and female employees…
However, even with the regulations in place, accidents can – and still do – happen. The need for handling solutions to remove the manual risk for these operations in UK manufacturing is high, and no more so than in the hygienic industries.
Not only do the handling solutions need to reduce or eliminate the injury risk to employees, but they also need to maintain the high hygienic standards required for dispatch, production and storage areas in industries such as pharmaceutical production and food processing.
This is where Teknomek comes in.
Risk-managed solutions
We are well known throughout the industry for our hygienic stainless steel furniture; of using our knowledge and experience to produce hygienically designed products to promote hygienic practices and to reduce clean down times and efficiency. So, it stands to reason that we should apply this same hygienic know-how to our Storage and Handling products.
The HSE’s regulations for handling aids and equipment call for several clear points to be hit to make sure they are suitable for the task. These include:
- Is the device the correct type for the job?
- Is it well maintained?
- Are the wheels on the device suited to the floor surface?
- Do the wheels run freely?
- Is the handle height between the waist and shoulders?
- Are the handle grips in good condition and comfortable?
- Are there any brakes? If so, do they work?
While we can’t guarantee the ongoing maintenance of our products, what we can do is make sure the hygienic handling aids and equipment we supply is perfect for purpose, hygienically designed and easy to clean and maintain.
Take our Heavy duty trolleys for instance.
Our Stainless steel heavy duty trolleys are designed to be 100% the correct product for the job. With a whopping 200kg total payload and sturdy, quiet castors and 900mm to 1265mm height options, they are strong and flexible enough to take on any task.
This focus, not just on hygienic design but epic functionality, runs through our entire storage and handling range – which includes;
- Roller bogies: stainless steel with fixed wheels and payloads of up to 540kg
- Sack barrows: Coming with a choice of 1075mm or 1175mm heights, tough stainless steel construction and payloads of up to 200kg
- Platform trucks: suitable for payloads of up to 500kg, and with adjustable mesh panels for flexibility;
- and much more…
Take advantage of our full range of Storage and handling equipment and make sure your manual handling areas are kitted out with the very best hygienic handling aids for your employees.
For more information, take a look at our website or give our Teknomexperts a call on +44 (0)1603 788 833 today.
