Lifting without hurting your back

Say this

1. Test the weight before you lift.
2. Use the machine or a second person for heavy or awkward loads.
3. Keep it close, lift with your legs, turn with your feet.
4. Clear the path first.

Ask the crew

• Where on this site today does "lifting without hurting your back" matter most?
• What would you do first if it went wrong?
• Who do you tell, and how?

Hazards on today's tasks

• Material handling and manual lifting: Back strain
• Material handling and manual lifting: Pinched hands and fingers
• Material handling and manual lifting: Dropped loads on feet
• Drywall: Back strain from heavy sheets
• Drywall: Falls from stilts, ladders and lifts
• Drywall: Knife cuts
• Glazing and window install: Cuts from glass
• Glazing and window install: Dropped or broken lites
• Glazing and window install: Falls from openings

How to give it

Hold it where the work is, at the start of the shift, standing up. Read each point out loud, then point at the real thing on this site: the trench, the ladder, the machine, the cord. Ask the questions and wait for answers; the quiet ones often know the most. Keep it to about 5 minutes so it gets done every day.

Write down anything the crew raises and fix it before the work starts. Everyone signs, including subs and visitors working that shift. Keep the signed sheet with the day's JHA; it's your record that the training happened (29 CFR 1926.21(b)(2), and 29 CFR 1926.21(b)(2)).

Sign-in

Goes with the JHA for material handling and manual lifting, drywall, glazing and window install.