Safe Lifting, Carrying, and Moving Equipment

Most lifting injuries come from awkward loads, not only heavy ones. Extractors, floor machines, rolled carpet, furniture, construction debris, and full trash bags can shift without warning or be hard to grip. Injuries often happen when someone rushes, twists while lifting, or tries to handle an item alone. This week, our Special Services Day and Night teams went over how to move these items safely.

Key reminders:

• Check the load first. Look at its weight, shape, grip points, and contents, and test it before fully lifting. Don’t lift anything that may hold glass, needles, chemicals, or leaking liquid.

• Clear your path. Look for stairs, wet floors, cords, debris, low lighting, and tight doorways before you pick anything up. Make sure the destination is ready too.

• Use equipment. Carts, dollies, hand trucks, ramps, and lift gates are there to protect you. Inspect them before use and secure the load.

• Ask for help early. Get help before you start, not after you’ve lost control of the load. In a team lift, one person calls “Ready, lift, move, and lower.”

• Lift with your legs and don’t twist. Keep the load close and turn with your feet.

• Stop if it becomes unsafe. Set it down, step clear, and tell your supervisor. Report any pain or injury right away.

  
  

Team tips: Day crews should use approved carts or containers for construction debris rather than carrying it against the body. Night crews should empty recovery tanks before loading equipment and never lift heavy machines into vehicles alone.

No weight is safe for every person in every situation. And getting done faster is never a reason for a lift you can’t control.

Reference: OSHA 29 CFR 1910.176 and 1926.250