What is the maximum weight a person can lift at work?

In any workplace, it is the duty of the employer or manager to keep the staff safe, at all times. Across every aspect of operations, employee safety needs to be considered carefully, and the appropriate risk management practices implemented.

In an environment where heavy lifting is involved, this is of critical importance.

If you don’t monitor how your teams are lifting these items (and how much they are lifting) then you are putting them at risk of serious injury, and potentially operating in breach of the government’s health and safety at work regulations.

So, to help managers operate safely and protect their workforce, our experts have created this comprehensive guide to understanding the maximum weight a person can lift at work.

Why is it so important to regulate heavy lifting at work?

Heavy lifting is, by a considerable margin, one of the most common causes of injury at work.

Unsafe or excessive lifting at work often leads to accidents, health issues and serious injuries.

In fact, according to the HSE report for 2019-20, 19% of non-fatal recorded accidents were caused by the carrying or handling of items. What’s more, a third of all workplace accidents are the result of unsafe manual handling.

And, even more concerningly, reports reveal that up to 75% of the injuries that were caused by manual handling could have been prevented, if safe lifting limits were followed.

These figures demonstrate how pressing the risk is, and just how pivotal it is for safe lifting requirements to be implemented in a workplace.

What is the maximum weight a person can lift at work?

Legally, there is no maximum weight that a person can lift. This means that UK workplace safety legislation does not specify a set cap for a maximum weight that can be lifted.

This is because any item, regardless of how heavy it is, can result in an injury if it is not handled correctly. So, the focus of the legislation is on prioritising safe lifting techniques and implementing a strong risk management culture.

But, although there is no fixed ‘maximum weight’, it is the responsibility of the employer or site manager to determine what constitutes a safe weight for their employees to lift. They will need to decide how much each employee can lift safely, and how often they can do so. This decision will need to be tailored to the specific situation (i.e. the weight of the materials being lifted, and how often they will need to be lifted).

This means that an employer must have risk assessments on manual handling in place – which is a key requirement of the management of health and safety at work regulations.

How can you determine a safe weight for employees to lift at work?

So, how do you decide what is a safe amount for your employees to lift?

Thankfully, there are extensive industry recommendations out there, to help managers implement safe, tested manual handling lifting limits.

According to legal manual handling guidelines, the maximum safe lifting weight for a woman is 16kg.

And for men, the maximum safe lifting weight is 25kg.

But, these factors will vary based on a number of factors. These include how high the object is lifted, and whether the lift is being held close to the body, or at an arm’s length.

For example, the maximum safe lifting weight is highest if an object is lifted at chest height. But, if the object is being lifted at either head height or mid-lower leg height, then the maximum safe lifting weight is significantly lower.

Then, if the object is being held close to the body, then a higher weight can be safely lifted than if the object is being held at an arm’s length.

For example, for a woman lifting an object at elbow height, while holding the weight close to her body, then the maximum safe lifting weight is 16kg. For men lifting an object in the same conditions, this maximum is 25kg.

But, if a woman is lifting an object at head height, and holding the object at arm’s length, then the maximum safe lifting weight drops down to 3kg. For men, this figure is 5kg.

As you can see, there is a dramatic difference between safe lifting weights, depending on the conditions required for the lifting. This is why it is so important that employers carefully consider the scenario in which the lifting is occurring, and don’t just base their risk assessment on the weight of the object in isolation.

Furthermore, it is important to remember that these weight limits are just guidelines. Some people will struggle to lift those weights, while others will find that limit very easy to manage. So, you will still need to complete a case-specific risk assessment for heavy lifting.

How do vacuum lifters keep teams safe?

Using vacuum lifters to perform heavy lifting is a brilliant way to maintain best practices in your workplace.

This specialist heavy lifting equipment is precisely designed to help teams lift heavy objects in the safest possible way.

In fact, vacuum lifters can lift over 100kg with ease. This means that heavy objects can be lifted and moved quickly, easily and efficiently, while protecting your teams from the health risks associated with heavy lifting.

In terms of health and safety at work, vacuum lifters are an absolutely invaluable addition to operations.

At H&S Lifting Solutions Ltd, we offer a wide range of state of the art lifting solutions, including vacuum lifters. We work with site managers and operations teams across the country, to help them implement the best health and safety standards in their lifting processes.

So, to find out more about safe lifting at work and the benefits of vacuum lifters, contact the team today.