Manual handling of loads

What is manual handling of loads?

The legal definition is broad: it is not limited to lifting weights, but includes holding, pushing, pulling, and moving, and encompasses both inanimate objects and people or animals. The determining factor is that the operation, due to the characteristics of the load, the effort required, the environmental conditions, or the demands of the activity, can cause injury, especially to the lower back. Back injuries associated with handling are one of the leading causes of work-related accidents resulting in sick leave and musculoskeletal disorders in Spain and the European Union.

Royal Decree 487/1997 establishes a two-tiered obligation. First, employers must adopt the necessary technical and organizational measures to prevent manual handling of loads, particularly through the use of mechanical handling equipment. Second, when manual handling cannot be avoided, employers must assess the risks, taking into account the factors listed in the annex to the regulation, and adopt appropriate organizational measures and resources to reduce them, in addition to training and informing workers.

The standard does not establish a maximum legal weight. The reference values ​​used in practice come from the INSST Technical Guide for the assessment and prevention of risks related to manual handling of loads, which in its 2024 edition replaced the previous single method with several methods applicable to different situations and incorporated an appendix on the movement of people. These values ​​are technical references for the assessment, not legal limits, and depend on the position of the load, the frequency, the conditions, and the population being protected.

Risk factors

The annex to Royal Decree 487/1997 orders the factors that the evaluation must consider:

• Load characteristics. Weight, volume, difficulty of gripping, stability, displaced center of gravity, distance from the trunk, risk of contact injury.
• Physical effort required. Excessive effort, with twisting or bending of the trunk, with sudden movement, in an unstable position or with changes of grip.
• Characteristics of the work environment. Insufficient space, uneven or slippery floor, changes in level, temperature, humidity, lighting.
• Demands of the activity. Frequent or prolonged efforts, insufficient rest periods, long transport distances, imposed pace.
• Individual factors. Physical fitness, inadequate clothing and equipment, insufficient training, and the presence of particularly sensitive individuals.

The combination of several factors multiplies the risk: a moderate load handled away from the body, with trunk twisting and many times per hour can be more dangerous than a heavy load lifted occasionally under good conditions.

How is it evaluated?

1. Identify tasks involving manual handling and first discard those that can be eliminated through mechanization, process redesign, or change in load format.
2. Describe each task: weight and characteristics of the load, origin and destination positions, distances, frequency, duration, environmental conditions and population performing it.
3. Apply the appropriate method from the INSST Technical Guide depending on whether it involves lifting and depositing, transporting, pushing and pulling, handling in equipment or moving people, or equivalent recognized methods.
4. Assess the level of risk, identifying which factors determine it.
5. Define measures in order of preference: elimination, mechanical aids, reduction of weight and distances, improvement of grip and environment, organization and breaks, training.
6. Re-evaluate after the measures are taken and whenever conditions change or damage occurs.

Organizational application

Reducing the risk from manual handling depends primarily on design and organizational decisions:

• Process design and purchasing. Lighter load formats or those with handles, working heights between hip and shoulder, trolleys, lifting tables, manipulators and electric pallet trucks.
• Work organization. Reduction of frequency and distances, rotation between tasks of different demands, breaks, team handling for bulky loads.
• Training and information. Regarding the risks of each task, the use of mechanical aids and handling techniques, which are a complement to and do not replace the previous measures.
• Health surveillance. Specific protocol for manual handling of loads and consideration of particularly sensitive individuals, including maternity protection.
• Participation. Consult with workers and their representatives about the evaluation and the measures.

Limits and common mistakes

1. Believing that there is a legal weight limit and considering any load below a certain figure acceptable, without evaluating frequency, position, and conditions.
2. Reducing prevention to “correct lifting” courses, when the standard requires first avoiding handling and then reducing the risk.
3. Evaluate only lifting and forget about pushing, pulling, transporting and moving people.
4. Do not consider the accumulated handling throughout the day or the peaks in activity.
5. Acquiring mechanical aids without adapting the space or training in their use, so they remain unused.
6. Ignoring particularly sensitive people and the protection of motherhood in positions involving handling.

Reference values ​​are not a guarantee of absence of harm: people with less physical capacity or with previous injuries may require additional measures, and the assessment should always consider the actual population performing the task.

Regulatory framework in Spain and Europe

• Royal Decree 487/1997 . Minimum health and safety provisions relating to the manual handling of loads that entail risks, in particular to the lower back.
• Law 31/1995, articles 15.1.d, 16, 25 and 26. Adaptation of work to the person, evaluation, especially sensitive people and protection of maternity.
• Technical guide for the assessment and prevention of risks related to manual handling of loads (INSST, 2024 edition) . Assessment criteria and methods, including the mobilization of people.
• Directive 90/269/EEC . Minimum health and safety requirements for the manual handling of loads.

The UNE-EN 1005-2 standard on machine safety and the ISO 11228 series on ergonomics and manual handling are voluntary technical references that the INSST Technical Guide takes into consideration.