The Elephant Man or a Manual Handling Problem?

I am really not sure what this activity will fall under?


The Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992 (as amended) or the The Work at Height Regulations?

Interesting sight but what are they actually doing? The mind boggles.

They're wearing gloves, wellingtons and one operative has a hat on (I can't see the other man's head so I can't comment). And there is evidence of eye protection but the glasses are sitting neatly on top of his hat where they are doing no good whatsoever.

And what have I said time and time again about not over-reaching when standing on a ladder let alone someone else's shoulders?

So I'll give them 10 marks for ingenuity but also 10 marks for stupidity.


Maybe I am worrying unnecessarily and they are the first set of conjoined twins to be working on this site?

Let's deal with one issue: The Manual Handling Operations Regulations (MHOR)

According to the MHOR - Manual Handling is defined as:
"...any transporting or supporting of a load (including the lifting, putting down, pushing, pulling, carrying or moving thereof) by hand or bodily force".

The MHOR 1992 establish a clear hierarchy of measures for dealing with risks from manual handling, these are:
avoid hazardous manual handling operations so far as is reasonably practicable;
assess any hazardous manual handling operations that cannot be avoided; and
reduce the risk of injury so far as is reasonably practicable.

I would say that this manual handling operation could have been avoided and a tower scaffold could have been used.