Posted By benjamin_c Hi all, Just wondered how/if anyone is using the HSE MAC Tool? I have been reveiwing our Manual Handling Assessment procedures recently and would like to do this as effectively/efficiently as possible, i would like to think that its possible to build up a collection of (generic-ish) assesments and then modify them to suit any individual/special requirements. I am aware that the MAC Tool is not designed to be a replacement for a proper risk assessment, I thought i would pick a number and then do a proper risk assessment if the MAC score is higher than that. What sort of score would you use as a suitable threshold ? Does that sound like a good idea or not ? Do you think that would be sufficient ?

Posted By benjamin_c Thanks for that Mark. So how specific should I be with tasks definitions? For context purposes we are talking about a small construction site, e.g. a labourer using a diesel mixer to mix mortar. Nothing terribly complex. Do i need to break down each process into its constituent parts and assess the manual handling implications of each element (e.g. picking up/use of a bucket of water, use of shovel to load sand, unloading cement from pallet)? Or can I generalise slightly? My current plan is to list all manual handling tasks and then perform a preliminary MAC assessment, then group them by MAC score accordingly by severity of risk highest scoring tasks being priority, with appropriate actions (e.g. full risk assessment) dependent on risk category (1-9 Low, 10-19 Medium, 20+ High (or something similar)). How does that sound ? As ever with these things, it seems to me that knowing where to draw the line and how far to take it seems to be more of an art than a science. If anyone else can furnish me with some bright ideas or just let me know if i'm way off target then it would be appreciated. Thanks, Ben.

Posted By benjamin_c Hi mark, I've got a couple of forms i've produced myself (among others courtesy of a good half hour spent with google's advanced search for some inspiration), but I would appreciate it if you could forward me your excel version, I do tend to quite often over complicate these things and read to much into them. email address is: ben@tdcarter.co.uk Thanks for your help, Ben.