Hazard Identification and Risk Assessment (HIRA)-Lifting pushing pulling and carrying items

Common Hazards in Craft Breweries and Distilleries (Liquor)

Breweries and distilleries can be hazardous at your places to work. Potential hazards include electricity, packaging machines, lift trucks, cleaning chemicals, and gases, such as oxygen and CO2. Brewhouses can be especially hazardous because they have heated vessels for mashing and boiling wort, hot water, and moving parts in machinery, such as rakes in the lauter tun.

Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying items

Hazard

Most of the injuries in craft breweries and distilleries result from lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying items that are heavy or awkward, such as grain bags, spent grains, hoses, kegs, and cases of product.

Risk control

Minimize and or reduce the risk of injury by practicing the following guideline Notice:

• Provide mechanical aids for lifting heavy items. Mechanical devices, such as dollies and keg lifts, are available with lifting mechanisms specifically designed to raise and lower heavy items. Some equipment modifications may need approval from the manufacturer or a professional engineer.
• Manage stock levels and design or modify storage areas to avoid lifting, lowering, or carrying heavy items.
• Organize storage areas by weight. Store heavier items between knee and chest levels to minimize lifting.

If you can’t provide mechanical aids, develop safe work practices that call for heavy items to be rolled, pushed, pulled, or slid to reduce physical demands. 

Use the following safe lifting techniques:

1. Place your feet apart for good balance.
2. Bend your knees. 

Knowing the Risks of Musculoskeletal Injury (MSI): An informative and technical guide for Workers/employees on Sprains, Strains, and other Musculoskeletal Injury (MSIs): 

Preventing Musculoskeletal Injury (MSI): 

• Manual for Backs
• Your Retail Business: Preventing Back Injuries (poster)
• Always keep the load close to the centre of your body.
• Use smooth, gradual motions.
• Avoid twisting your back.
• Take micro-breaks.
• Rotate positions regularly, if possible.

Download File

HIRA-Lifting pushing  pulling and carrying items