MAC — Manual Handling Assessment Chart

Overview

The Manual Handling Assessment Chart is a UK Health and Safety Executive tool designed to help employers and safety professionals quickly assess the risk of musculoskeletal injury associated with lifting and carrying operations. The MAC tool assesses three types of manual handling tasks — lifting, team lifting , and carrying — using colour -coded risk levels across a range of risk factors including load weight, hand distance from the body, vertical lift zone, posture, floor conditions, carrying distance, and work rate. Green indicates low risk, amber moderate ris k, and red high risk — providing an immediately accessible risk classification that guides prioritisation of ergonomic intervention.