Loading and Unloading Safely

Loading and unloading goods from lorries, vans and trolleys are daily activities for many organisations across Ireland, but they are also a cause of many, preventable injuries. No business wants staff, visitors or the general public to be injured on its premises, and to potentially be hit with an expensive claim, so here's some quick-fire safety tips for your workplace:

Train your staff

Raising awareness about the potential dangers of loading and unloading is perhaps the most effective way to lower accidents at work. You should provide comprehensive training that is refreshed throughout the year and supplement this with information sheets so people are reminded of the loading and unloading dangers, as well as best practice.

Spread the weight evenly

Where possible you should always look to spread the weight of loads as evenly as possible. Do remember that uneven loads can make the trailer or vehicle unstable and cause nasty accidents.

Don't overload vehicles

You should never overload a vehicle as they can become harder to steer, less able to stop and generally more unstable. It's always better to make two trips for something, rather than end up paying a visit to hospital.

Ensure loads are correctly packaged

A good tip to reduce the number of accidents is by ensuring loads are suitably packaged. I advise drivers to double check that pallets are in a usable condition, loads are securely attached and that they are safely positioned in the vehicle.

Check the floor is clear

Before loading or unloading you should check to make sure that the floor or deck of the loading bay is safe and there are no debris or broken boarding which could cause injury.

Following these tips can help reduce the chances of a claim, but it's still really important that your business has the right level of cover. If you'd like to chat to one of our friendly team about business insurance, please give us a call on 01 4003400 or visit the Business Insurance section on our website.