SAFETY
ASPECTS IN MATERIAL HANDLING
Material
Handling: Types:
1 1. Manual
handling
- Mechanical handling
1
MANUAL HANDLING: It
means handling i.e. lifting
and shifting a load by using human power (muscle power)
Causes of Accident in Manual Handling are:-
·
Handling
over load.
·
Handling
slippery irregular items.
·
Putting
pressure on spinal column due to improper positioning.
·
Improper
balancing of body.
·
Obstruction
by the material being handled or with other objects.
Common Injuries Occur are:-
·
Back
pain
·
Painful
Hernia
·
Spinal
column injury.
·
Cuts,
facture, strains etc.
·
Sprain,
Bruises
Main Factors To Determine What Is Safe Or Unsafe To
Lift & Shift Manually:-
·
Load
location
·
Task
repetition
·
Weight
of load.
Precautions during manual material handling:
·
Always
use kinetic way of lifting i.e. ergonomic way of lifting.
·
Wear
suitable gloves and safety shoes.
·
Inspect
the object to assess the load
·
Never
carry a load that obstructs the view ahead.
·
Grip
load with your whole hand and not with finger tips.
·
Inspect
the route of travel for any obstruction, spills and clearance for handling the
load.
·
Clothing
should be such that it gives easy movement and should not tangle with load.
·
Ensure
that people engaged for lifting a load should of same height and weight.
·
Equal
load distribution should be ensured.
·
Sufficient
number of persons should be ensured for lifting the load.
·
Proper
co-ordination should be maintained. For this one co-coordinator should be
selected for rhythmic co-ordination.
Accessories generally used are:-
·
Hooks
·
Crowbars
·
Rollers
·
Jacks
·
Trolleys
etc.
HOOKS:
·
Used
for handling crates, boxes and bags
·
Should
be kept sharp and inspected daily and before use.
·
Train
the workers to use hooks in such a way that they will not glance off hard
objects and injured the worker.
CROWBARS:
·
SLIPPAGE
HAZARD:
·
Position,
crowbar, safely so as to avoid slippage.
·
Should
be made of sound material and is in good shape.
·
While
using crowbar, hands and gloves should be dry and free from grease and oil.
·
The
edge of crowbar should have good bite.
·
·
ROLLERS:
·
Long
and heavy objects are shifted on rollers.
·
The
main hazard of rollers are crushing or pinching of fingers or toes and falling
of load because of improper placing of rollers.
·
Use appropriate capacity rollers for a load.
·
Never use pipes as a roller.
- JACKS:
·
Wrong
use may damage handled object, building and jack itself.
·
Major
hazard is crushing and pinching of hand and foot.
- Precautions while using mechanical/ hydraulic jacks:-
·
Check
the capacity of jack to make sure that jack can handle the load.
·
Check
for leakages before and after use.
·
Ensure
that the jack is well lubricated.
·
Never
throw or drop the jack.
·
The
floor upon which a jack is placed must be level and safe to take the load.
·
If
the surface is earth, jack should be placed on hardwood blocks, at least twice
the size of the jack.
·
While
releasing the jack, the worker should keep all parts of the body clear.
·
Always
place jack in straight vertical position.
·
TROLLEYS
:
While
using hand trolleys following precaution should be taken :-
·
Appropriate
trolley should be use to handle drums, cylinders etc.
·
Hand
trolley should have Knuckle guard.
·
Wheels
should be under truck only.
·
Braking
arrangement should be available on hand trolley.
·
Avoid
collision at blind corners.
·
Do
not park trolley on aisle ways.
·
Cage
trolley should be use for handling scraps.
·
Load
should not extend the width of trolley.
·
Keep
the axles well greased.
·
Balance
the load so that material cannot fall off even by sudden jerk.
·
Never
stack a load so high that it might fall off or obstruct the view.
LEGAL ASPECTS:
·
The
Factories Act, 1948
·
Section
34. Excessive weights
·
No persons shall be employed in the factory to
carry lift or move excess load which may cause any injury to him.
·
No
women or young person shall unaided by another person , lift, carry or move by
hand or on head any material, article, tool or appliance exceeding maximum
limit in weight set out in the following schedule :-
Person Maximum
weight
Adult female 30Kg
Adolescent Male 30Kg
Adolescent
Female 30Kg
Male child 16Kg
Female child 16Kg