There are many threats in workplaces that could injure your staff and leave them unable to fulfil their basic job responsibilities. Common examples of this include tripping over loose wiring, objects falling from heights or improper movement of heavy equipment around office spaces or worksites. That’s why it comes as no surprise that there were 1.8 million UK employees suffering from a workplace illness or injury last year.
Within this guide, however, we’re going to focus on the heavy equipment movement as this is a simple issue to put right and ensure that your staff members don’t get an injury caused by incorrect lifting and moving.
It’s in your best interest as a manager to make sure staff know how to move heavy equipment around and what apparatus you can use to ease the burden, so read on to learn how you can keep your staff safe and the rules you need to follow when performing this task.
Plan ahead
If you know when you’ll be lifting heavy equipment, then you can plan ahead to make sure the task is handled responsibly. Consider the weight of the item, how many people are helping and how far you need to move it. Planning ahead also means you can buy items such as hoists to help with the movement.
Understand the regulations
Those moving abnormal loads should be aware that there are rules and regulations to follow, which involve informing the police, highway authorities or bridge/structure owners about the removal of your heavy equipment. This can be done through ESDAL abnormal load notification and it’s easy to complete, so there’s no need to risk to consequences of not doing this.
Know when to get professional help
Sometimes the task at hand may be too much for your ordinary staff and hiring professional movers to do the job instead is sensible. It’s your job as the manager to recognise when this is necessary and although this may cost more than simply using your regular employees, it will reduce the risk of losing money due to injured staff members being unable to work.
Professionals tend to have the experience and machinery to make moving this equipment straightforward, so it shouldn’t take too long to move items around your workspace or to another site.
As you can see, moving heavy equipment is no walk in the park but when you follow the guidelines and get professional help or special equipment to support the task at hand, then you can get it done more efficiently.
