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Work-related musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) are one of the leading causes of sickness absence in the UK. According to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), manual handling activities such as pushing, pulling, lifting and moving equipment are a major contributor to back, neck and shoulder injuries.
Industries including healthcare, logistics, warehousing, manufacturing, hospitality and retail regularly involve moving carts, trolleys, roll cages, beds and other wheeled equipment. Repetitive pushing and pulling forces can lead to fatigue, physical overload and long-term musculoskeletal injuries. Reducing physical strain is therefore an important part of workplace safety, employee wellbeing and manual handling risk assessment.
Cindy Ribbers
Account manager
In the UK, employers must comply with:
The HSE recommends that organisations:
The HSE also recommends considering mechanical or powered assistance where manual handling risks cannot be sufficiently reduced through workplace design or procedures alone.
International standards such as ISO 11228-2 and ISO/TR 12296 also provide guidance for assessing pushing, pulling and manual handling activities.
While the HSE does not define strict legal force limits, it does provide practical guideline figures commonly used during manual handling risk assessments.
| Activity | Men | Women |
| Starting or stopping a load | 20 kg force (200 N) | 15 kg force (150 N) |
| Keeping a load moving | 10 kg force (100 N) | 7 kg force (70 N) |
These guideline figures help identify tasks that may require further ergonomic assessment or risk reduction measures. Physical strain can increase due to:
Repeated exposure throughout the working day can contribute to cumulative fatigue and increased risk of musculoskeletal disorders.
Understanding the actual forces employees apply during daily work activities is essential for reducing physical overload and improving workplace ergonomics. The esense ergonomic solutions provide insight into pushing and pulling forces during real working situations and combine:
These solutions help organisations:
Reducing physical strain supports:
By measuring and analysing physical load, organisations can make informed decisions about ergonomics, powered assistance and manual handling policies.
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