Posted By Simon Ayee Wrexham Council and HSE have recently held a seminar for businesses in the Wrexham area which introduced them to the manual handling assessment and the MAC tool. Delegates had a chance to use it during some case studies. These case studies used the same video clips that are on the web site. The reaction has been very positive and we will be following up to see how they get on using the MAC in the workplace. It is anticipated that this will be run again in neighbouring LAs in North Wales. It was initially developed as a tool to assist Inspectors during their visits but was soon identified as something that could be useful for duty holders. It is a screening tool used to identify high-risk manual handling activities. My view is that it gives more specific and visual guidance for the assessor when determining the level of risk than is available in the L23 (HSE's guidance book on Manual Handling) risk assessment. It incorparates colour coding and numerical scoring to allow priorisation of those tasks and elements of tasks for action. Having said this it cannot be viewed as a replacement for the L23 risk assessment as it does not include pushing/pulling and the individual (psychosocial factors). The team handling section is also not broken down into team lifting & team carrying. It is important that red / amber elements of the tasks are dealt with rather than relying on getting under an overall score. To be of greatest benefit it should be used in conjunction with the L23 filter and assessment checklist. Follow up visits to the seminars will take place in about three months and it will be intersting to see how employers have got on with it.