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Industrial Engineering & Manufacturing vocabulary · Ergonomics and Human Factors

Manual handling

Meaning in industrial engineering & manufacturing, with examples

nounCommon term

In industrial engineering & manufacturing, manual handling means: Lifting, carrying, pushing, pulling or holding loads using the body rather than machines; one of the most common causes of back injuries at work.

In Turkish: elle taşıma, elle yük taşıma, elle taşıma işleri

How it is used

Common in UK and EU safety language; Americans often say 'manual material handling'. Companies carry out manual handling risk assessments and training, and reduce manual handling with lifting aids, trolleys and lighter loads.

Example sentences

  1. The new vacuum lifter removed almost all manual handling of the 25 kg bags.

  2. All warehouse staff must complete manual handling training in their first week.

Common collocations

  • manual handling training
  • manual handling risk assessment
  • reduce manual handling
  • manual handling task
  • ergonomicsThe study and design of work so that it fits the human body and mind, reducing strain, injury and errors while improving comfort and performance.
  • musculoskeletal disorderAn injury or painful condition of the muscles, tendons, joints, nerves or back, often caused by repeated movements, heavy lifting or awkward postures at work. Shortened to MSD.
  • risk assessmentA careful review of a task or area to find the hazards, judge how likely and how serious harm would be, and decide what controls are needed.
  • hazardAnything that could cause harm, injury or ill health, such as moving machine parts, chemicals, noise, electricity or a wet floor.

More terms: Ergonomics and Human Factors

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