Manual Material Handling Oscar Anell Elite Industrial Safety ConsultantsDefinition + Any transportation or supporting of a load by hand or bodily force + Any activity or sequence of activities that requires a person to use their physical body to perform a work. + Include: Lifting, lowering, pulling, pushing, carrying, moving, sliding or stacking (things, animal or person)Facts Manual Material Handling is the most common cause of occupational fatigue and low back pain. About 3 of every 4 employees whose jobs includes MMH suffer pain due to back injury at some time. Such back injuries account for about one third of all lost work and even more than on third of all compensations costs. More important than financial cost is human suffering. + Every year several thousand workers are permanently disabled by back injuries. Many others are unable to return to their former jobs. Their lives are disrupted.