Safe Lifting

Back injuries are among the most common lost-time injuries on any site, and most of them are not dramatic. Somebody picked up something ordinary, in an awkward way, one more time.

Before you lift

• Size it up. Weight, shape, where the grip is, whether it will shift. Tip it and see.
• Plan the route. Where is it going, is the path clear, is there a door, is there a step? Put it down once, not four times.
• Ask for help, or use the machine. A team lift or a cart is not an admission of anything. Most back injuries happen on a load somebody could *just about* manage alone.
• Where possible, do not lift at all. Cart, dolly, hoist, forklift, or break the load down.

The lift

• Feet apart, one slightly forward. A stable base.
• Bend at the knees and hips, not the waist. Keep the back's natural curve.
• Get a firm grip before you take the weight.
• Hold it close. Weight held at arm's length loads the spine several times harder than the same weight against your body.
• Lift with your legs, smoothly. No jerking. A jerked lift is a strain.
• Do not twist while loaded. Turn with your feet. Twisting under load is the single most common way a back goes.

The carry and the set-down

• See over it. If you cannot, it is a two-person job or a cart job.
• Set down with the same technique — knees and hips, load close, no twist. People concentrate on the lift and then drop into a bend to put it down, which is where a lot of injuries actually happen.
• Trap points. Watch fingers against door frames, racks and vehicle beds.

Over a shift

Rotate tasks, take the breaks, and speak up early. A twinge on Tuesday that gets worked through is the thing that stops you working on Friday.