Risks to airport workers from loading baggage researched

I agree Stephen, one of the initial key points in Manual Handling Training is to feel for the weight, rather than just grabbing, and lifting. This applies equally to the manual handling of anything and should be reinforced via workplace related Risk Assessments and possibly via refresher courses to help tackle the typical human tendency toward complacency!

Naaa it's just like the Post Office the different size or shape of the envelope gives no clue as to it's weight as this depends on what is stuffed in it.....

Of course, the risks related to the ergonomics of lifting and moving loads are well known and so is the problem of familiarity, complacency and fatigue resulting in high risk of injury.

Unlike farms, pubs or beside the seaside airports cannot use disposable unknown numbers of gang workers as there is this little question of security although if Home Office doesn't know who it has employed I don't suppose it really matters until it all goes wrong.

Anyway whether handling data, post, baggage or loads of anykind there is a mutual responsibility or duty of care to complete task consistantly and safely preventing and/or mitigating the risk of loss or injury.

No different than walkways, stairs and banisters all inanimate relatively simple self-explanitory bits of equipment yet all require a risk assessment as there will inevitably be someone who slips, trips or falls hurting themselves.

Sorry, mental slip or trip, it is of course, the contact with hard unforgiving surfaces of walkways, stairs, banisters and the like that result in injury to soft tissue and bone not the slip, trip or fall itself.

This is a clear candidate for the Gold Cap - of Jobsworth.

There is already a huge amount of time and effort given to advise on Manual Handling Practises; why is is necessary to have yet another expensive investigation, which will help to ensure high fares for everyone? If they can't handle luggage by now one has to ask: what have they been doing for the past umpteen years?

Excellent, this means that any press reading the first line will automatically think that the HSE has lost its marbles, what next, office workers should avoid offices, engineers should avoid engineering....perhaps the qualification that greater automation should have been the headline...no wonder we have a bad reputation!!!!