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Manual handling RAMS Builder
Manual handling risk assessment and method statement
Prepare RAMS for receiving deliveries, moving loads by hand and using a forklift, telehandler or temporary hoist to move them. Enter the loads, the routes and the plant, keep the suggested steps that fit and review the PDF draft.
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Prepare the Manual handling RAMS
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What will you be doing?
More details
Pick everything this RAMS covers. The questions that follow are chosen from what you tick here.
What a Manual handling RAMS covers
Getting materials off the lorry and to the workface: unloading, carrying and lifting by hand, and moving loads with a forklift, telehandler or hoist.
- Receive/unload
- Manual handling
- Temporary hoist use
- Telehandler interface
- Forklift use
Suggested steps and hazards for Manual handling
What it offers for manual handling before you have answered anything.
Avoid carrying where you can
- Have the supplier drop the load close to where it is needed.
- Use a machine or handling aid where it suits the load and route.
Hazard
Strain from carrying a load that could have been delivered or moved another way
Who might be harmed and how
Everyone moving materials
Controls in place
- Agree the drop point and handling method before the move starts.
Avoiding a hand carry removes the handling risk from that part of the move.
Construction physical ill health risks: Manual handling Check the load and the task
- Find out the load weight, grip, route, lift height and how often it will be handled.
- Change the plan when the load or route changes.
Hazard
Strain or a sudden drop from an unknown or awkward load
Who might be harmed and how
The people lifting, carrying or lowering it
Controls in place
- Assess the task, load and place before lifting.
- Do not assume a weight is safe for every person or route.
Checking the actual load and task prevents an unknown handling demand becoming an injury.
Construction physical ill health risks: Manual handling Confirm the weight before lifting
- Read the supplier or package information where it is available.
- If the weight or centre of gravity is unknown, stop and find it out.
Hazard
The person commits to a load that is heavier or less balanced than expected
Who might be harmed and how
The person or team handling the load
Controls in place
- Keep load information with the delivery or work pack.
- Choose an aid or another method when the information is not enough.
Knowing the weight and centre of gravity prevents an unexpected commitment to the lift.
HSE: Manual handling at work
What the builder asks about Manual handling
Your answers decide which steps, hazards and controls it suggests.
The job
- Is this delivery coming in, going out, or both?
- How heavy and how big is it?
- What will the telehandler do?
- Which forklift and load arrangement will you use?
- What is coming to site?
- What makes the load difficult?
Where
- Where will it land?
- Where will the vehicle and load be kept clear?
- What is the carrying route like?
How it’s done
- What will you stand on to reach the work?
- Can you avoid carrying the load?
- What will unload or lift it?
- Which machine, forks and load chart will you use?
- How will the landings and load be controlled?
What your Manual handling RAMS includes
Method statement
The sequence of the work, step by step. The suggestions are a starting point; you write the method for the job as it will be done.
Risk assessment
Each hazard, who could be harmed, the controls in place and any further action. There is no risk score: you judge each row against the real site, and adding a hazard does not put its controls in place.
PDF draft for review
The document as you left it, for someone competent to check. A download is not approval and not permission to start work.