Health and Safety issues for lifting heavy
machinery
Are you self-employed
or an employer who provides the usage of lifting machine at work? Or perhaps
you have control over its usage, then; you must ensure its safety.
The first thing you
need to think about is the risks that may be present as well as how they can be
managed. For instance:
- The deterioration
of the machine as a result of wet, corrosive or harsh environments;
- Attempts
to lift weights, which are very heavy, and at the same time surpass the
machine load limit;
- Failure
of the equipment;
- The
use of the equipment or planning of the lift by unskilled workers;
- People
being hit by moving components of the equipment or by items dropping.
Safe lifting should
be appropriately planned, supervised and carried out by an expert. Any machine
you make use of must have been designed properly, manufactured and tested.
Likewise, do not forget to maintain it properly.
The factors to be
considered as far as safe lifting is concerned are:
- What
exactly are you lifting?
- How
weighty is it?
- At exactly
what point is its centre of gravity?
- How
would you assign it to the lifting device?
- Who
controls the lift?
- What
exactly are the bounds of the equipment?
- Could the lift be rehearsed?
THE DOS AND DON’TS OF LIFTING MACHINERY SAFELY
DOS
- Make
use of only licenced lifting equipment that is labeled safe for working
load and likewise, not overdue for a test;
- Keep
the records associated with the declarations of conformity or detailed
evaluation and test certificates as well;
- Be
certain that the load is correctly mounted on the lifting machine. If
required, safely bind the load to avert it from falling or slipping off;
- Before
lifting any unbalanced load, locate its middle of gravity; lift it a
couple of inches above the ground and pause. This is to ensure it is well
balanced;
- Make
use of packaging to prevent the sharp sides of the load from destroying slings.
Never allow tackle to be destroyed by being dropped, pulled from under
loads or exposed to unexpected loads;
- When
making use of jib cranes, ensure that any signs for safe loads are
adequately working and are correctly set for the task along with the way
the equipment is designed;
- Make
use of outriggers where essential;
- Whenever
multi-slings are used, ensure the sling angle is considered;
- Endeavour
to have a reliable banks man or slinger and also, make use of a recognised
signalling system.
DONTS
- Never
use inappropriate machine, e.g. damaged or severely worn chains that are
shortened with knots, makeshift, twisted or kinked wire ropes, rotted or
frayed fibre ropes;
- Never
surpass the safe working load of the equipment or gadgets like slings and
grabs, chains. Bear in mind the load in the lower limbs of a sling rises
as the angle between the legs rises;
- Never
carry any load should you be in doubt about its weight or the capability
of the equipment.
What does LOLER apply to?
The Lifting
Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations ( LOLER ) apply to any lifting
equipment used at work, including: employees' own lifting equipment for
lowering or lifting loads, attachments used for anchoring, fixing or supporting
it. However, these regulations do not extend to fixed anchor points that form
part of a structure or building.
LOLER covers a wide
variety of equipment, which include:
- Hoists
- Mobile
elevating work platforms
- Vehicle
inspection platform hoists
- Lifts
- Fork-lift
trucks
- Cranes
The regulations also
include lifting accessories such as slings, eyebolts, chains etc. LOLER doesn’t
apply to escalators, which are covered by the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare)
Regulations.
For more information on we take this seriously, and to book a heavy lifting machine for your next project, call 0845 603 7180 or fill in our enquiry form and talk safety.
