Advice about handball weights?

UK PROFESSIONAL DRIVERS FORUMS THE UK PROFESSIONAL DRIVERS FORUM (INTERACTIVE)
21

Lucy:

A tonne pallet is not handball, its not even difficult to move.

To decide that something is or is not reasonable based on one person’s ability is simply ridiculous which is why the law allows for personal differences.

Which is exactly why the highly qualified HSE trained Manual Handling Trainer is talking out of his backside.

A pallet truck is a handling aid, just like a sack barrow, broadloom axle, crane, Hiab or Moffett Mounty.

If someone cannot pull a tonne pallet, why would they go for a job delivering err, tonne pallets as they are about the standard weight, whether it contains baked beans, clutch plates or crazy paving.

22

Lucy:

but very few employers give manual handling training these days or are even aware of the responsibilities they have.

Sad but true. Fortunately ours do, and I had mine updated just a fortnight ago, which is how I know both Conor and Wheelnut are making potentially dangerous sweeping generalisations. :wink:

Back in the day when I was on the darkside (Management) part of my job was defending actions against the company i worked for and prior to that I was a trade union rep for 8 years attacking the companys position on industrial injuries to members so I have quite a bit of experience in such matters on both sides of the fence and I know who won the most and how many checks I handed to members. I will let you decide who you think comes out on top.

You are quite right when you say Connors position is dangerous and I might add a tad suprising.

23

Wheelnut:
If someone cannot pull a tonne pallet, why would they go for a job delivering err, tonne pallets as they are about the standard weight, whether it contains baked beans, clutch plates or crazy paving.

You know as well as I do that job situations can change as can the requirements. Pump trucks are a mechanical handling aid and still fall under the remit of manual handling because physical strength is a factor.

As for who is talking out of their backside, I’m going to take the advice of the WOMAN who spent 3 hours teaching us this stuff, together with legal references and evidence and detailed explanations for the reasoning behind it over that of a patronising keyboard warrior who has as yet come up with nothing to back up his assertions other than his own opinion.

24

Wheel Nut:

Lucy:

A tonne pallet is not handball, its not even difficult to move.

To decide that something is or is not reasonable based on one person’s ability is simply ridiculous which is why the law allows for personal differences.

Which is exactly why the highly qualified HSE trained Manual Handling Trainer is talking out of his backside.

A pallet truck is a handling aid, just like a sack barrow, broadloom axle, crane, Hiab or Moffett Mounty.

If someone cannot pull a tonne pallet, why would they go for a job delivering err, tonne pallets as they are about the standard weight, whether it contains baked beans, clutch plates or crazy paving.

FYI I didn’t “go for a job delivering tonne pallets”. They have been gradually introduced over the last few weeks.
Let’s not get all macho about how much we can or can’t pull. I simply started the thread to find out if there was any legal limits to how much you can deal with.
The bottom line is that as an agency worker I will simply say " get me out of here, as I don’t injure myself for anyone". :smiley:

25

The tail lift would need to be pretty strong as well. Have you checked it’s weight limits ?

26

TBH I think most men* who were in reasonable physical shape could move a 1 tonne pallet with a pump truck in a warehouse with a NICE LEVEL & SMOOTH concrete floor.

However delivering off the back of wagon is all together a different thing. It’s rare to find that your truck is on a level road. If it’s pointing down hill your fighting gravity, & even worse if you pointing uphill then you’ve got to struggle to stop the load flying out the back of the truck.
Of course as soon as you hit something a small as a match stick with your pumpa’s wheels it will stop dead & you can never get it moving again :unamused: .

1000kg is dangerously heavy for one man to try to deliver IMO.
I too injured my back a few years ago after rupturing erm “the ■■■■■ thing between your vertabrae” to quote the physio :confused: :laughing: .
I was a lab technician at the time so no hard physical work for me then, but I couldn’t move at all for 2 days, couldn’t walk for a week, was off work for 3 weeks, & it took over 6 months for it to stop hurting.
If I did the same again as a HGV driver I suspect I’d be off work for most of those 6 months bearing in mind the leaping out of cabs, pulling curtains, & shifting loads etc you end up doing.
I’ll also mention the cronic constipation you can get from the kick ■■■ pain killers they prescribe you. :blush:

The only upside I’d guess is that if you injured yourself & if you have not recieved any manual handling training you may get a hefty compensation payout, about two years after the event.
Even that is small comfort because you’ve lost your house as you had no income for six months. :unamused:

*Not being sexist. As a general rule of thumb & under HSE guides woman are physically weaker than men. Even if they can endure childbirth. :open_mouth:

27

It is a good job people have an opinion of there own then, although I am going to use someone elses opinion here :wink:

I have had enough of being told I cannot smoke in a bar, smoke while driving, use a hands free mobile, I am sick of being told to eat fewer potatoes, eat less salt, eat fruit, not to drink alcohol, caffeine, tea, wine or Ribena.

I have got my own opinion of how much I can lift, pull, push or throw. My own common sense says that if I cant move it is probably too heavy, awkward, jammed, broken or collapsed.

I have also had to do manual handling training along with everyone else, and had to listen to endless classroom experts who probably would not know one end of a pallet truck from the other.

I said that a pallet truck is a handling aid, it is funny that the Health and Safety Executive call it that too

The start of this post said that the driver had to “handball” pallets that weigh a 1000kg according to the paperwork, his mate guessed the weight at 1200kg.

Most of the commercial adverts I have looked at state the specifications of a manual pallet truck and the more common types are designed to move 2000 - 2500kg by one person.

I imagine the customer will be impressed when they open their inbox to find a driver is complaining that he was expected to deliver a pallet through a pallet network (specifically Pallex) exactly as Living Stone stated in their terms and conditions.

Anyway, it’s a good job it’'s only an internet forum, where people are allowed to have their own opinions, and do not have to follow the party rule.

In any case sticks and stones do not hurt :smiley:

Mind yer backs :stuck_out_tongue:

28

I have got my own opinion of how much I can lift, pull, push or throw. My own common sense says that if I cant move it is probably too heavy, awkward, jammed, broken or collapsed

Exactly my point, and precisely why I was curious as to why on earth your personal opinion on whether or not it would be difficult for YOU to move had any relevance the subject in question. :confused:

Please explain the “party rule” comment. I didn’t understand it.

29

Whats handball? :confused:Â lol

30

A game which hasn’t yet got into the Olympics… :stuck_out_tongue:

31

Bulk bags are more like 750 to 850 kgs not 1000 :wink:

32

If you feel that you’re being asked to offload pallets that are too heave for you, why not suggest to the company that they would be better off if they supplied electric pallet trucks, they’ll probably tell you where to go but there’s no harm in trying.

A couple of years ago I did three weeks for a company that had electric pallet trucks on both of their vehicles, the amount of time it saved was incredible, the customers liked it because they just had to let me know where they wanted the pallet put and it was no problem for me to oblige, I could offload heave pallets all day without getting tired so everyone was happy, and of course as I got to know some of the customers I could sometimes be unloading the pallets before they even knew I was there :smiley:

33

Seany:
Bulk bags are more like 750 to 850 kgs not 1000 :wink:

Wrong. Some were put on the electronic scales (by forklift) and weighed 1150kg :wink:

34

Conor:
What a load of tosh. I regularly pull 1.3 tonne IBC containers out of the back of fridges with a pump truck and I’ve got a spinal injury. If I can manage 1.3 tonnes, a fit person can handle 1 tonne with no problem.

Good for you, so can I. Different ballgame working on a level floor in a reefer onto a loading dock than trying to push a pallet truck off a tail-lift onto a pavement.

Try that and tell me again how much better your spinal injury is. :wink:

I agree with Wheelnut, nothing much has changed, particularly for the drivers. Ironically, though, our company is considering moving from 25kg bags to 20kg bags (much to the disgust of both the farmers and ourselves) as a result of some obscure EU Manual Handling directive.

So why is it that Joe Public ain’t allowed to pick up anything weighing more than 20kg, but it’s OK for the poor bloody driver to bust his ■■■ and risk crippling himself for life trying to shift a solid ton? :question:

35

Wheel Nut:

Lucy:

A tonne pallet is not handball, its not even difficult to move.

To decide that something is or is not reasonable based on one person’s ability is simply ridiculous which is why the law allows for personal differences.

Which is exactly why the highly qualified HSE trained Manual Handling Trainer is talking out of his backside.

A pallet truck is a handling aid, just like a sack barrow, broadloom axle, crane, Hiab or Moffett Mounty.

If someone cannot pull a tonne pallet, why would they go for a job delivering err, tonne pallets as they are about the standard weight, whether it contains baked beans, clutch plates or crazy paving.

On a level, stable, dry and clean surface maybe but on a camber, wet, dirty surface no thanks and then there is the suitability of the pallet truck. does it have rubber or nylon wheels? is it braked? can you PUSH the pallet onto the taillift rather than PULL it on putting yourself between the pallet and a 4 foot drop. Sorry but some of the rufty tufty trucker talk is just plain stupid. I’ll go for working smarter not harder. You can bet the guys who load the trailer don’t use a pallet truck onto and off of the tail lift. A forklift or powered pallet truck for them.

36

Conor:

Buycrider:
1000kg.■■? No wonder you cannot handball them. 1000 kg = 1 metric tonne. ie 2224 lb= 20 hundredweight… Per bag?? Tell the boss to give it a go himself.

What a load of tosh. I regularly pull 1.3 tonne IBC containers out of the back of fridges with a pump truck and I’ve got a spinal injury. If I can manage 1.3 tonnes, a fit person can handle 1 tonne with no problem.

What you seem to forget is these pallets are delivered on rigids with no air suspension and tailifts that are not designed to carry more than a ton,yeah its easy pulling a 1300kg pallet backwards down a trailer when you tilt it ,not so easy pulling a 1000kg pallet uphill.

37

keano1:

Seany:
Bulk bags are more like 750 to 850 kgs not 1000 :wink:

Wrong. Some were put on the electronic scales (by forklift) and weighed 1150kg :wink:

Bags are overfilled then. They are only rated for 1000kgs. I carry 32 bags on my trailer. If they was that weight I think I would be slightly overweight :laughing: