Protecting your health
The purpose and effort of OHS is mainly to protect health and strengthen prevention in protecting the safety and health of employees at work. OHS and lifting loads are part of work procedures designed to protect employees.
The most common problem at work is the excessive, long-term and monotonous load on the musculoskeletal system, resulting in spinal, muscular, tendon and joint disorders.
It is therefore more than important, especially nowadays, to understand the principles of work and load handling in more detail, to plan how loads are to be lifted or moved and to train employees in the correct handling of loads.
With our calculator for calculating the maximum weight of a load that can be lifted by a man or a woman at work, you can check whether your employer is overloading you, which could have a significant impact on your health.
The calculator works with an age of 60 years or less, as the official tables do not contain higher values.
What is load handling anyway?
According to the Slovak Government Regulation No. 281/2006 Coll. on minimum safety and health requirements for manual handling of loads, manual handling of loads is any moving or carrying of a load (including people and animals) by one or more employees, lifting, supporting, storing, pushing, pulling or other movement which, due to the characteristics of the load or adverse ergonomic factors, poses a risk of damage to health, especially to the spine of the employees.
In simple terms, any handling of loads which is likely to cause even minimal damage to the health of the employee is considered to be handling. For this reason, the law imposes an obligation on the employer to ensure, by organisational measures or by appropriate means (we are talking in particular about mechanical devices), that the risk of manual handling of loads by employees is excluded or reduced and minimised.
What are the employer’s obligations?
So what does the above imply for the employer? The employer or, where appropriate, the employer’s designated managers must, before starting to work with loads
- Explore all options to avoid manual handling of loads altogether
- Carry out an assessment of the shape and characteristics of the loads, the work equipment, the organisation of the work, the working environment and the physical effort required
- assess the weight, shape, size, grip and stability of the load
- plan adequate rest, minimise carrying distances
- correct load handling, stability, appropriate body centre of gravity when gripping
- sufficient space to work with the load, suitable floor, lighting, temperature
- take into account all risk factors – the main factors that can increase the risk of damage to health when working with a load are
- individual risk factors: the employee does not have suitable clothing or other personal equipment, is not physically and medically fit to carry out the work task, does not have adequate knowledge and training
- characteristics of the load: too heavy, large, ungraspable, unstable, may cause injury
- physical effort: excessive, need to turn the torso too much, likelihood of unexpected movement of the load, handling in an unstable position
- working environment: lack of space, slippery uneven floor, need to handle at height, changing floor level, unstable foot support, inadequate lighting
- activity demands: too frequent or too prolonged physical exertion, insufficient rest for recovery, excessive distances, forced fast pace of work
- on the basis of the analysis and assessment in the previous points, determine safe working practices, give employees the necessary technical working equipment, tools and personal protective equipment
- provide training for employees
- ensure that the guideline load weight values given in the table below are not exceeded under any circumstances when handling loads
Maximum load weight – the weight of an individual load which must not be exceeded under any conditions
Physical exertion in pregnancy
For pregnant women, mothers up to the ninth month after childbirth and breastfeeding women, manual handling of loads must comply with the advice of the competent doctor concerning the modification of the work and rest regime or the limitation of the duration of manual handling of loads, if this is required by the woman’s state of health and the undisturbed course of the pregnancy. However, it is generally recommended that the weight guideline values for this category be reduced to less than half.
Similarly, for employees with disabilities, manual handling of loads must be carried out in accordance with the advice of a doctor according to an individual health assessment.
We have briefly gone through the duties that an employer must ensure before employees start handling loads. However, this is not the end of the employer’s obligations. The employer or his designated managers must ensure two more basic obligations once the manual handling of loads by employees has begun:
- to check that the designated working procedures, breaks and the overall organisation of workare followed
- in the event of non-compliance with the specified handling methods and procedures , to ensure that work is stopped
Obligations for employees
I am sure that many of you reading this article will be wondering “what about the duties of employees?” – yes, of course, employees also have certain duties when handling loads, and these are specific:
- to participate in a medical fitness for work assessment as instructed by the employer
- to attend training and familiarisation sessions on the designated methods of work and on the principles of safe handling of loads
- observe the prescribed working procedures and designated safety breaks
- use designated work equipment to facilitate working with loads and personal protective equipment to reduce the risk when working with loads
- report any incidents to the employee’s supervisor and stop work if necessary
Related regulations
- Act of the National Assembly of the Slovak Republic No 124/2006 Coll. on safety and health protection at work and on amendment and supplementation of certain acts
- Slovak Government Regulation No 281/2006 Coll. on minimum safety and health requirements for manual handling of loads
