a guide to safety in the wood products ... - WorkSafe Victoria

MANUAL HANDLINGLOADING FINISHED PRODUCTLoading finished wood products into vehicles for transport to customers ofteninvolves hazardous manual handling. A variety of different sizes and weightscan be loaded for distribution.Does the work involve any of the following?HIGH RISKTICKExerting high force while in an awkward posture, e.g. handling the completed timber product fromstorage areasPushing or pulling objects that are hard to move or to stop, e.g. moving completed product tovehicle loading areasLifting, lowering or carrying heavy loads, e.g. lifting large or heavy completed timber frames up onto a truckINTERIM WORK PRACTICE (MEDIUM RISK)PREFERRED SOLUTION (LOW RISK)• Select vehicles which allow easier handling of product• Use mechanical aids such as vacuumlifters to move and load finished productSpecially designed trucks to load productat waist heightVacuum lift is used to load sofas into stillages• Use pallet decks in a loading bay to raise product tothe same height as the delivery truck• Use trucks with tail gate loader (a powered drop downtray) to raise the product for loading28 WORKSAFE VICTORIA / A GUIDE TO SAFETY IN THE WOOD PRODUCTS MANUFACTURING INDUSTRY