HSE campaigns to prevent ill health from handling heavy materials

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is warning construction workers the long-term impact on their health of lifting and moving heavy materials can leave them struggling to stand, walk, or sit down.

From 4 September 2023, inspectors will be carrying out inspections of construction sites, focusing on the health risks of moving and handling materials on site. Supporting the inspections initiative is HSE’s communications campaign “Work Right Construction. Your health. Your future”, aimed to raise awareness of the risks when moving and handling materials on site and provide advice for employers and workers.

Inspections in 2022 reportedly found widespread methods that can protect workers such as the use of mechanical equipment to handle large glazing panes, using small inexpensive air bags to help to position heavy doors when being installed, and the use of all-terrain pallet trucks to move blocks and brick-lifters to carry bricks around site.

However, inspectors also say they found many examples of poor practice, some of which resulted in enforcement action, such as a worker lifting an 80kg kerb on his own without any assistance from machinery, lifting aids or colleagues.

The law requires employers to control the risks of ill health of their workers, which includes pain in muscles, bones, joints and nerves that can develop over time, known as musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs). However, in the most recent period an estimated 42,000 people in the construction industry suffered from a work-related musculoskeletal disorder, which can cause years of agonising aches and pains. This amounts to 53% of all ill health in the construction sector.

HSE’s acting head of construction division Mike Thomas said: “MSDs affect the lives of tens of thousands of construction workers and can lead to a lifetime of suffering. However, there are simple measures that can be taken to prevent this.

“Everyone involved in construction has a role to play in keeping people safe and healthy. We want everyone in the industry, from designers to contractors and their workers, to be aware of the risks associated with any moving or lifting task and put appropriate measures in place.”
www.hse.gov.uk