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Manual Handling Case Study 16 Maintenance of Printers

On Screen Text: Maintenance of Mainframe printers
Workers handling large printers in a workshop

Scene 1:
The scene starts with two characters walking towards a storage rack which is used to store large mainframe printers, three shelves high. The two characters bend down and pull a printer out from the racking and then adjust their posture to manually grip and lift the printer. The printer weighs 60kg. The two characters struggle to hold the printer and they move the printer and place it onto a worktable in the centre of the floor.

On Screen Text:
Need to carry out a risk assessment of this task:

  • Look at how the job is carried out
  • Collect information: Load weight, etc
  • Identify risk factors with the job
  • Make changes to improve the job

On Screen Text:

Risk Factors/Problems:

Scene 2:
Still image of characters taken from scene 1, attempting to lift the 60kg printer from the storage racking . Large Red “X” marks indicate the risk factors with the job.

  • Load is too heavy
  • Load is too large
  • Difficult to grasp
  • Prevented from handling at a safe height
  • Physical effort is too strenuous
  • Bending and twisting of the trunk

On Screen Text:
The new system of work: Assess risk to reduce and reorganise

Scene 3:
The printers are now stacked two shelves high. The scene begins showing a trolley with an adjustable table. One character removes a protective lip from the edge of the storage rack. The other character walks around to the other side of the racking. The printer is now stored on a roller ball table to allow it to be pushed smoothly along the surface. One character pushes the printer and the other character guides the printer into position onto the trolley. The character adjusts the table on the trolley and then moves the trolley over to the centre of the floor. The character then raises the table on the trolley to be flush with the worktable. The two characters then push the printer from the trolley onto the worktable.

On Screen Text:
Manual Handling: Assess to avoid, reduce or reorganise