Manual handling safety campaign

Turn everyday lifting, carrying, pushing and pulling into a focused conversation about safer work — starting with whether the load needs to be moved by hand at all.

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What is manual handling?

Manual handling includes transporting or supporting a load by hand or bodily force, such as lifting, lowering, carrying, pushing or pulling. A campaign should address the task and working conditions, not just ask people to lift more carefully.

What should the campaign focus on?

Avoid hazardous manual handling where practicable before relying on lifting technique.
Assess the task, the load, the environment and the people doing the work.
Use suitable handling aids and improve access, storage and work layout.
Encourage workers to report difficult handling tasks and unavailable or unsuitable equipment.

A practical campaign plan

1
Choose a real task
Ask the team which handling task causes difficulty. Describe the load, route, space and available aids using your own workplace information.
2
Agree the controls
Review your task assessment with the people doing the work. Identify what can be avoided, changed or supported with suitable equipment. Do not invent a universal safe lifting weight.
3
Brief, demonstrate and follow up
Use the same message in a toolbox talk, poster and supervisor briefing. Check that the agreed controls are available and review unresolved barriers with the team.

Illustrative campaign example — adapt to your workplace

Before you move it, rethink it

Poster message

Can we avoid moving this by hand? Check the task and use the agreed handling aid. If the safe method is not available, raise it before starting.

Toolbox talk discussion questions

Which part of this task is awkward or difficult?
Can the move be avoided, or the load and route changed?
Is the agreed handling aid available and suitable for this task?
What would stop us using the agreed method today?

An action to agree

Choose one handling task to review with its workers and supervisor. Record the agreed improvement and who will follow it up.

How to follow up

Track handling tasks reviewed, access to suitable aids, worker-reported barriers and completion of agreed improvements. Use incident and discomfort reports as additional information, not as proof that a short campaign alone caused a change.

Turn the topic into a campaign pack

Safety Campaign Hub can draft toolbox talk wording, poster copy, presentation slides, supervisor briefings and rollout checklists using your campaign details and saved organisation profile. Review all wording against your local assessment and procedures before use. In Artwork Studio, use your own photo and branding or choose a no-image design; no AI images are created.

Free: 5 campaigns per month · Professional: 20 · Team: 75. Allowances are shared across the organisation and reset monthly, including annual subscriptions. Each campaign allows 10 successful AI section rewrites; manual editing does not use that limit.

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Guidance and related reading

The HSE source below is UK guidance. Use it as background, not a substitute for your local requirements, task assessment or competent advice.

HSE: Manual handling at work — avoid, assess and reduce risk