I’ve just got to a collection and its metal build it bedframes to somewhere in London. Theyre handballing it on (two of them) but I’m expected to deliver it solo. Each box has a 34kg weight advised on the side.
Questions are how do I play this? I don’t mind the odd bit of handball, few pallets here and there, but a trailer fulll of over 200 of these seems a bit far. I dont get sick pay and I don’t get extra. What would you do?
Once had to handball off 21 tons of broken paving slabs, back in the days when crazy paving was fashionable, wasn’t able to just drop it on the ground either, had to wheelbarrow it away too due to the delivery point being large gaff on security gated community near Wokingham, yes all on me jack, no choice cos otherwise stuck…sick pay unheard of, percentage pay meant lorry standing was no earnings for me either.
Could your company get an agency labourer in for a couple of hours, obviously agency local to the delivery point to meet you at appointed time, yes i know the chances of finding some bugger capable of some work in the great wen actually turning up is stretching the point, but even one such as they should see the gain in 8 hours pay for an hours graft.
hse.gov.uk/pubns/books/l23.htm
Have a look at this site and then contact office and ask advice. Like yourself I don’t mind the odd bit of handball here and there but going by some of the charts on that site its the quantity not the weight that could cause you injury and before any of the old knights of the road chip with “back in my day eff h and s and handball full trailers etc etc thats why most of us now have dodgy backs, knee’s etc. Health and safety can be overkill at times as we all know but when it comes to manual handling its the one thing that can protect us from serious and long lasting injuries.
toonsy:
What would you do?
One at a time
You say it’s for delivery into the shjt-hole, if it’s a shop type place am guessing should be staff to unload, if not get tickets signed, unable to unload, no body here.
Alternatively ring your office and ask them to contact the customer and find out will there be people their to unload, due to the weight and size of each box.
s3amu5:
Manual handling. Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992 - Guidance on Regulations - L23Have a look at this site and then contact office and ask advice. Like yourself I don’t mind the odd bit of handball here and there but going by some of the charts on that site its the quantity not the weight that could cause you injury and before any of the old knights of the road chip with “back in my day eff h and s and handball full trailers etc etc thats why most of us now have dodgy backs, knee’s etc. Health and safety can be overkill at times as we all know but when it comes to manual handling its the one thing that can protect us from serious and long lasting injuries.
Spinal damage can occurr from the ■■■■■■■■■■ effect of shifting lots of stuff just as it can occurr from one single heavy handling operation.
As for a dodgy back in the real world it’s actually serious life changing stuff.
In the case of ■■■■■■■■■■ damage there’s no chance of proving causation at least that satisfies state industrial injury benefits.They’ll only pay out for a stated time and date of a single identifiable occurrence recorded in an accident book.
Spinal damage also doesn’t satisfy the requirements of Incapacity Benefit/ESA benefits tests.So you can find yourself facing termination of employment and end of your career as a driver but you’ll still be forced into the job market.
While the surgical solutions contain considerable risks that at worse could leave you worse than before.Including possibly paralysed.While at best the spine will still be weak and limited in its movements.In some cases to the point where avoidance and refusal of surgery as in my case can be a better solution in the longer term.
The only safe answer to manual handling risks is to just say no.The risk reward equation is a no brainer.To the point where there are loads of job ads with manual handling duties out there which no one rightly wants.
peirre:
toonsy:
What would you do?One at a time
Container drivers never unload or load their containers , as their customers arrange a work force to do it , or they have permanent staff on site who regularly receive hand ball loads .
In your case , i would arrive on site and tell them you will not be unloading it , if they refuse , get them to sign the paper work as load refused .
Having done deliveries of bagged flour where it was 40x25kg or 65x16kg bags per 1 tonne pallet, we’d only get a drivers mate to help with the handball if it was multiple deliveries of 3Tonne+ at each site, 10 tonnes wasn’t unusual. the trick was to break down the pallets and stack the bags 4/6 high along the edge of the bed so your not jumping up and down from the truck, the truck floor way level with my shoulders & this allowed me to slide 2/3 bags at a time onto my shoulder then lug em up staircases, thru alleyways etc and drop it where there wanted it
Juddian:
Once had to handball off 21 tons of broken paving slabs, back in the days when crazy paving was fashionable, wasn’t able to just drop it on the ground either
+1…
Had exactly the same thing way back when in my 20s. I had a flat trailer full of paving slabs (intact not broken). When I got on site I looked a round for a machine only to find two blokes with wheelbarrows. It took all afternoon but we got the ■■■■ things off.
No way would I do it now.
34 kg is well into ‘do yer back in’ territory so that would be another pass from me.
Last heavy thing I wrestled with were indoor walkers treadmills that I helped to barrow to the back of trailer on nights. Chrisstonlyknows what they weigh.
I thought that the limit now was around 25kg or even 20kg .When i started years ago it was handball animal feed or fetilizer 25kg or 56lbs bags for feed and 50kg or 112lbs bags for ferlilizer early morning start load up with 10 or 15 ton checking the number of bags sheet rope then drive to merchants or farms then handball off 5days a week
What year is it 1970 hand ball a full trailer on your own, what ever floats your boat just hope you get a bag of extra money for doing it
Aldi or lidl would love workers like that, they wouldn’t even have to put the stock on pallets or cages, o wait they are already doing that for nothing, they are called a special breed
ianto:
I thought that the limit now was around 25kg or even 20kg .When i started years ago it was handball animal feed or fetilizer 25kg or 56lbs bags for feed and 50kg or 112lbs bags for ferlilizer early morning start load up with 10 or 15 ton checking the number of bags sheet rope then drive to merchants or farms then handball off 5days a week
I’ve heard this as well - a 25kg recommendation. Eg bagged cement etc.
If 2 chaps load it, 2 can tip it and I’m not one of them. My back is knackered with handballing back in the 90s so no chance now. I suppose that means I don’t fit the “Can Do” Attitude I’ve seen on a few vacancies recently 
taken from google…
The guidelines suggest that the maximum weight men should lift at work is 25kg. This relates to loads held close to the body at around waist height. The recommended maximum weight is reduced to 5kg for loads being held at arms length or above shoulder height.
Get a tipper.
So update…
There was nobody able to unload. It was to a lock up type thing and even I didn’t think the 50-something year old bird would be up to the task.
But credit where its due. My lot apparently didn’t know it was handball but once they did they hired in help at the location to tip it. If anything they went a bit heavy as they hired in 15 people 
Only took them 90 mins too! And I dare say a much mich larger delivery charge to the customer!
peirre:
Having done deliveries of bagged flour where it was 40x25kg or 65x16kg bags per 1 tonne pallet, we’d only get a drivers mate to help with the handball if it was multiple deliveries of 3Tonne+ at each site, 10 tonnes wasn’t unusual. the trick was to break down the pallets and stack the bags 4/6 high along the edge of the bed so your not jumping up and down from the truck, the truck floor way level with my shoulders & this allowed me to slide 2/3 bags at a time onto my shoulder then lug em up staircases, thru alleyways etc and drop it where there wanted it
Yes but your shoulders are connected to your spine which then has to deliver all that weight to your legs.Your spine is only as strong as the weakest link among the squelchy POS discs that support each of the vertebrae.They are only designed to absorb normal shock loads like when walking down hill etc.They’re not designed to act as components in a human forklift etc.
If you damage any of those then your back and possibly future earnings potential not to mention quality of life can be toast.
Employers demanding manual handling duties are just exploitative parasites.
Especially when it’s often to increase payloads or avoid the need for an O licence in the case of fitting tail lifts.
Or because they want to use unrealistic manual hand ball loading/tipping/transhipment operations.
Or because customers won’t employ sufficient manpower or hire mechanical handling equipment at the delivery point.
Well that’s good news. I’m one of those with a knackered back due to handballing heavy gear on and off trailers, not to mention jumping off the bloody things instead of climbing down. On the last driving job I ever had, I had to pick up a hardwood settee from the docks in Brisbane and take it to the warehouse I was working from. It was put on with a forklift because of it’s weight. A couple of days later it went back on for delivery to a private house, so I said I’d need help at the other end and was assured there’d be someone there… a fifteen year old girl! I was about to turn round and take it back when a council worker, yes that’s right, a council worker got off his shovel and came over to help me. Looking back, I should have refused just to teach 'em a lesson.
Socketset:
a 25kg recommendation. Eg bagged cement etc.
Good luck with that.It’s a joke and even if it was 12.5 kgs the ■■■■■■■■■■ effects of lifting lighter but more of them are still there.
That piece of pathetically weak gristle is all that stands between life as you know v knew it.It was never designed to have 25 kgs of compression on it.