1. Musculoskeletal Injury Prevention Program
Manual Materials Handling Workshop Module 3

2. Principles of Safe Lifting
Speaker’s notes:
P. 33 in the participant’s manual
Provide participants with the small, laminated card referred to as the Principles of Safe Lifting Reminder Card (example above);
The card lists the principles of safe lifting and can be attached to the different types of clips used for ID, etc. for continued reference by participants while on the job.
Advise participants you will review each principles in details on the following pages.

3. Module 3: Objectives At the end of this module, you should be able to:
List the eight principles of safe lifting.
Describe how the eight principles of safe lifting apply to manual materials handling.
Adapt the principles of safe lifting to manual materials handling situations.
Recognize when a manual materials handling task may need to be adjusted based on the principles of safe lifting.
Speaker’s notes:
P. 33 in the participant’s manual

4. Principles of Safe Lifting
Plan Your Move
Assess the load
Assess the work area
Assess the need for help or assistance
Check the equipment
Speaker’s notes:
P. 34 in the participant’s manual

5. Principles of Safe Lifting
Plan Your Move
Speaker’s notes:
This is a video (N8-02-divide_and_rule)
Not meant to be taken seriously – it is a humorous way to illustrate that while ‘Planning Your Move’ consider whether the load can be broken up into small part so that it can be safely handled.
i.e. pallets of canned goods, large chemical containers

6. Principles of Safe Lifting
Strong Foundation
Get yourself into the “Power Position”
Use the strong muscles in your legs & butt
Ensure:
your feet are shoulder width apart
your butt is in the squat position
Speaker’s notes:
P. 35 in the participant’s manual
Key point:
Creating a strong foundation using your feet, legs and butt allows you to use your big muscles in your legs and butt vs. the small muscles in your shoulders & back.

7. Principles of Safe Lifting
Centre of Gravity
Achieve postures that keep you in balance over your center of gravity
Key to maintaining balance:
Keep head up
Ensure the load is close to center of gravity
Speaker’s notes:
P. 35 in the participant’s manual
Key point:
Stay balanced over your center of gravity before and during every manual materials handling task.
ADDITIONAL NOTES:
Center of Gravity is the point around which our body weight is evenly balanced, or centered.
As a broad rule the center of gravity can be found around the topmost part of the Sacrum.
This will vary slightly from person to person based on several factors ranging from height, weight, gender, and postural or structural (the need for a walking cane or crutches) disposition.
The centre of gravity is a constantly changing point of reference and is altered by any changes of posture.
By lifting a heavy bag that makes you sway to one side you are in effect changing your centre of gravity.

8. Principles of Safe Lifting
Big Jobs call for Big Muscles
Create a strong foundation and stay in balance
Maintain the “Power Position”
Avoid using the smaller muscles in the neck, upper back, shoulders and arms
If possible, manage the load at waist height
Speaker’s notes:
P. 36 in the participant’s manual
Concentrate on using the big muscles in your legs and butt before and during every manual materials handling task.

9. Principles of Safe Lifting
Get a Grip!
Use the “power grip”
Keep palms up and wrists as straight as possible
Speaker’s notes:
P. 36 in the participant’s manual
Key point:
Using a powerful grip with your palms up and your wrists as straight as possible.
Practical Exercise:
Ask participants to put their hands out in front of them (off of the surface) with their palms down;
Then ask them to turn their hands over so their palms are up:
Ask them when they turned their hands over,
What happened to their elbows?
They should have felt their elbows comes into their sides
What does that mean?
When gripping with palms down, our elbows are out
Very difficult to have our hands locked at our sides with our palms down.
Therefore we are putting the small muscles in our shoulders & forearms at risk of injury.

10. Principles of Safe Lifting
Reduce Friction
Assess the floor surface
Assess the equipment
Assess the route
Speaker’s notes:
P. 37 in the participant’s manual
Key point:
Friction requires our muscles to use more force to overcome....which can place those muscles at risk of getting hurt.
Before starting any task:
Where are you moving the materials to?
what are the floor surfaces you will need to move the materials over?
What kind of equipment do you need?
if moving over carpet, should you use a dolly with small wheels or large wheels?
What is the best piece of equipment that can be used to reduce any potential friction caused while completing the task?
how big is the load and/or how many materials/boxes need to be moved?
is it only one large box or are there several boxes of different sizes?
What is the best route to take?
the shortest route is not always the best route if there are more flooring transitions or there is more potential for friction to be generated
i.e. the shortest route is all carpet whereas a slightly different route is all linoleum or laminate flooring.

11. Principles of Safe Lifting
Communicate!
Communicate with your co-worker
Report errors, near misses and mistakes
Report equipment problems
Speaker’s notes:
P. 37 in the participant’s manual
Key point:
talk to your co-workers before, during, and after every MMH task (when appropriate)

12. Principles of Safe Lifting
Stick to the Script
1. Plan Your Move
2. Strong Foundation
3. Centre of Gravity
4. Big Jobs = Big Muscles
5. Get a Grip!
6. Reduce Friction
7. Communicate
8. Stick to the Script!
Speaker’s notes:
P. 37 in the participant’s manual
Key point:
Review the cycle graphic to recap the ‘script’
Make an effort to follow these rules before undertaking every resident handling task no matter how small the job and your workplace will become a safer place