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What are the potential dangers for workers?
Workers lifting/shifting heavy weights is a major contributor to their injuries. In most of the accidents that happen causes back injuries.
Other hazards include falling objects, improperly stacked material etc. Employees/workers shall be made aware of potential injuries
that may be caused due to manually moving of material.
What precautions should workers take when moving the material manually?
When moving the material manually, workers should always wear appropriate PPEs as per safety rules and use proper lifting techniques.
In order to prevent injury from oversized load, workers should seek help in the following:
■ When a load is very heavy such that the employees cannot hold or lift it properly,
■ When employees cannot see or around a load, or
■ When employees cannot handle a load safely.
The use of the following personal protective equipment’s prevents unnecessary injuries during manually handling of material:
■ Gloves.
■ Safety Googles
■ Safety Shoes.
There should be a written procedure to handle the heavy loads and in fact it would be better that employees/worker should be
trained to handle the heavy loads/weights. Graphics images shall be displaced at appropriate places so that importance of
moving or handling heavy weights can be sensitize among employees/workers.
What precautions should the workers take when moving the material manually?
1.0 Safety equipment - Workers should always wear suitable personal protective equipment. Wear gloves and long-sleeved shirts for protection of
forearm while lifting objects with sharp or rough edges. Protect your eyes by wearing safety goggles. While lifting very heavy objects, you
should wear steel-toed safety shoes or shoes to protect your feet and toes.
2.0 Lift the weight properly - Use proper lifting techniques by taking training.
3.0 Add Handle - When shifting the material or load manually, workers are advised to attach handles or holders to loads.
4.0 Get help - When a load is too heavy to handle independently, get a colleague to help you to reduce risk to yourself and avoid damaging the material.
5.0 Blocking Material – Use of large and strong enough blocking materials to support the load safely. Blocking material of good condition is only to be
use. When placing blocking material under a load, confirm that load is not released before removing your hands under the load.
What precautions should be taken by workers to avoid the dangers of storage?
To prevent hazards when collecting material, employers should do the following:
■ Keep storage areas free from accumulated materials which cause tripping, fire or explosion, or which can contribute to the harassment of
rats and other insects;
■ Keep the stored material inside the under construction buildings, which are under construction and at least 6 feet high, or at least
10 feet away from the outer walls during the opening of the floor or outside;
■ separate non-compatible content; And
■ Workers who work on the grains stored in silos, hoppers, or tanks with lifelines and safety belts. In addition,
workers should consider keeping binding material on the rack and should be protected by stacking, blocking or
interlocking to prevent it from falling, falling or falling.