A manual handling risk assessment under the Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992 (MHOR, as amended) is required where manual handling cannot reasonably be avoided. It is one of the most under-done documents in UK construction because the activities are routine — but musculoskeletal disorders remain the single largest source of lost-time injury in the construction sector, and HSE inspectors increasingly target MHOR compliance on routine inspections.
MHOR 1992 (SI 1992/2793) regulation 4 sets a three-step duty: (1) avoid manual handling that involves a risk of injury so far as is reasonably practicable; (2) where avoidance is not practicable, assess the risk; (3) reduce the risk to the lowest level reasonably practicable. The assessment document discharges steps 2 and 3 — but only after step 1 has been seriously considered.
Reviewers expect the document to open with a short paragraph on avoidance: have mechanical aids (sack trucks, pallet trucks, slab lifters, vacuum lifters, hoists) been considered? In construction, the answer is often yes — the assessment then justifies why the residual manual handling is unavoidable for the task at hand.
The HSE-recommended structure is TILE: Task, Individual, Load, Environment. Some adopt TILEO with an added Other factors. Each letter has specific things the assessment must cover: Task (frequency, posture, distance carried, lifting / lowering heights), Individual (capability, training, vulnerability — pregnancy, history of MSD), Load (weight, size, stability, grip), Environment (floor surface, temperature, lighting, space constraints).
A generic assessment that says 'staff lift heavy items' without the TILE breakdown is non-compliant. The assessment should walk each letter for the specific task.
The MHOR guidance (L23) sets indicative guideline weights based on lift zone — 25 kg for a man lifting close to the body at waist height with the load directly in front, reducing with distance from the body and with awkward postures. Above shoulder height or below mid-thigh, the guideline drops to 5–10 kg. These are starting points, not legal limits — exceeding the guideline triggers a more detailed assessment, typically using the HSE's MAC (Manual Handling Assessment Chart) tool.
The assessment should reference whether the MAC tool, the V-MAC (variable load), or the RAPP (push / pull) tool was used, and the score band (green / amber / red / purple).
Regulation 4(1)(b)(ii) of MHOR requires that suitable and sufficient steps are taken to reduce risk to the lowest level reasonably practicable. In construction this typically means: mechanical aids first (sack truck, pallet truck, vacuum lifter), team lifting for awkward loads, route clearance, lift zone optimisation (load delivered to working height), and operative training under HSE INDG143. Training has to be specific to the loads handled — generic 'manual handling' training is insufficient if the operative handles plasterboard, kerbstones, manhole covers or other high-risk loads in practice.
Review is triggered by changes in task, load, individual or environment; in practice annually as a minimum.
The numbered sections a reviewer expects to see, in order.
What is lifted / carried / pushed / pulled, how often, by how many people, distance and duration.
Mechanical aids considered and rejected — sack trucks, pallet trucks, vacuum lifters, hoists, conveyors — with justification.
Posture, lifting / lowering heights, distance carried, twisting, frequency, recovery time between lifts.
Operative capability, training records, vulnerability factors (pregnancy, recent MSD, age).
Weight, size, stability, grip, sharp edges, temperature, contents shifting in transit.
Floor surface (gradient, smooth / rough, contamination), space (clear access route), lighting, temperature, weather.
MAC, V-MAC or RAPP score with colour band (green / amber / red / purple) and date of assessment.
Mechanical aids in use, team lifting protocol, lift zone delivery, route clearance, rest intervals.
INDG143-compliant training records, task-specific briefing, review trigger and date.
Why a risk assessment gets sent back — these are the patterns we see most often.
The legal framework this risk assessment operates inside. Links go to the official source.
SI 1992/2793
The statutory framework — avoid / assess / reduce duty for manual handling operations.
HSE L23
The principal guidance — TILE structure, guideline weights, assessment methodology.
HSE INDG143
Plain-English summary; standard reference for operative training content.
HSE MAC
The standard scoring tool for loads above the guideline weight; outputs colour-banded scores that drive intervention.
No. 25 kg is an HSE guideline figure for a man lifting close to the body at waist height with the load in front — it is not a legal limit. The legal duty under MHOR is to reduce risk to the lowest level reasonably practicable. Lifts above the guideline weight, or in awkward postures, trigger a more detailed assessment (typically using the MAC tool), not an automatic prohibition.
Task, Individual, Load, Environment — the four areas an HSE-compliant manual handling risk assessment must cover. Some employers use TILEO with an added 'Other factors' category for things like PPE constraints or shift patterns. The framework comes from HSE L23, the official MHOR guidance.
Where the lift exceeds the L23 guideline weight for the relevant zone, where the task involves repetitive lifting, or where the assessor needs a structured scoring method to evaluate controls. The MAC outputs a colour-banded score (green / amber / red / purple) that drives the intervention priority.
Not per individual item, but per task type. Carrying plasterboard sheets is one task; lifting manhole covers is another; pushing wheeled bins is a third (and would use the RAPP tool, not the MAC). The assessment is task-specific, not item-specific.
A competent person — typically a supervisor or safety officer with HSE-compliant training, or an external occupational health / ergonomics specialist for complex assessments. There is no formal certification scheme, but the HSE expects the assessor to have working knowledge of L23, the MAC tool, and the specific tasks being assessed.
Trade-specific RAMS guidance for the contractors who typically produce this risk assessment.
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Final RAMS must be reviewed and approved by a competent person before use.