For those responsible for running removalists, many tasks must be completed. In addition to keeping their clients happy by ensuring that the removalist services they provide are of the highest order, they also have obligations towards their employees. A large part of those obligations will relate to health and safety, and under that umbrella, the health and safety of clients will also be found.
When you consider the number of ways in which employees and clients could be at risk of injury, or worse, should something as part of a house move or office relocation go wrong, it should come as no surprise that removalist companies must take health and safety extremely seriously. Here are seven significant health and safety matters removalists must prioritise as part of their operations.
Health And Safety Policy
For removalists to comply with their legal obligations and meet or even exceed many of the industry's standards, they must have a health and safety policy. Health and safety policies will cover matters such as the responsibilities of the company management and employees and the company's procedures related to health and safety matters.
Health And Safety Training For Staff
A huge priority for removalists is to ensure that the staff working for them have been given adequate training relating to all aspects of their work, especially training that focuses on working safely. This will start from the beginning via their induction training and should proceed to cover other matters such as safe lifting techniques and safe use of any equipment used during a house move or office relocation.
Proper And Safe Equipment
Removalists use many types of equipment, including hydraulic trollies, packing materials, boxes, cartons, and straps. For these and any other equipment that might be used as part of a move, the removalist company must ensure that they are of a sufficient standard, checked as required, and used correctly. Training staff to use the equipment properly also falls within this.
Risk Assessments
Preventing accidents and injuries should be a massive priority for removalists, which is why risk assessments should be undertaken in many areas of their operations. As well as scouting each property they will be working in, whether a home or an office, they should also regularly assess their standard operating procedures to ensure they remain safe.
Lifting Safely To Avoid Injuries
Although we have already highlighted staff training, knowing how to lift objects safely is so important that we have given stealing training a separate section. More injuries are caused to removalist staff by not lifting an item correctly than anything else, so it is fair to say that training on lifting safely should be ongoing to ensure staff are continually reminded of it.
Obstructions
Obstructions are a hazard that removalists encounter regularly. They come in all shapes, sizes and types, ranging from rugs on the floor to sizeable unmovable office IT cabinets. Regardless of what they are and their risks, removalists should constantly assess them before trying to manoeuvre past them and, if necessary, seek a more accessible and safer route through the building.
Safe Transportation
Transposition is a significant and prominent element of their operations that removalists must prioritise concerning health and safety. Whether that be ensuring the vehicles used are in good running order, that they are loaded correctly, and even that the safest route is used from one location to another, they all help make sure their transportation is secure.
