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Posted By Mart
Hi there, i've been looking for some answers on a few queries i have.
I recently got a job in a garden centre local to my house. I always knew garden centre work would be hard work but at the moment i think they're beginning to take the mick.
There is a solid steel gate at the entrance of the site...must weigh 250kg+ and the motor to power it across the entrance failed years ago. At the moment me and another lad have to push the gate across. Not only that, the gate is on a slope and the gate is positioned on tracks for the motor to work...we have to lift and push at the same time to get over the tracks and the resistance from the wheels on the bottom. Once in the morning to open up and once at night to close. My back has been in bulk for weeks, i keep telling the manager but he doesnt do anything to sort it out :(
We also have to position pallets of compost into place. The compost bags weigh around 15-20kg each depending on the amount of litres in a bag...and there are 45 bags on each pallet, which means they must weigh about 675-900kgs each. One of the lads has worked in another garden centre and he said they all used motorised pallet trucks because the compost pallets are too much too lift. We don't have the luxury of a motorised pallet truck, so usually 2 of us have to push them into place...a job which can take upto 2 or 3 hours depending on how many pallets need to be put in.
I'm just wondering if anyone can give me some advice, the list goes on about the strain i keep putting my body under daily...but i won't keep boring you, i've listed the ones i'm really concerned (and injured) about.
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Posted By osazemen
Hello Mart,
You are causing a great harm to yourself by lifting something that is heavier than you can carry.
You need to make sure that you stop that at once because it is an unsafe act, you also need to ask your employer to provide a lifting equipment to carry out the task and most especially a comprehensive risk assessment of the task should be carried out.
You can check the hse website for more details on manual handling.
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Posted By Kieran J Duignan
Mart
From what you're saying, you're at risk of seriously injuring your back and a lifetime of recurrent pain.
Unless your management invests in appropriate training for themselves and for you, are you not better off safeguarding yourself for less dangerous situations.
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Posted By Penfold Hi Mart I know this is probably a bit of a cliché, but ask your employers if they have a safety policy and carried out a risk assessment on each of these tasks (as required by law). Have you had any form of Manual Handling training from a competant person? It would be very difficult for anyone here to give specific answers to your questions without doing the risk assessments themselves. A good starting point is with the HSE's free handout http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/indg143.pdfDo you have any H&S reps in your organisation? if not, why not suggest to your employer you will be up for it (seeing as you have taken the time out to ask the questions here). Finally, don't take any risks with your back!!! Pen
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Posted By Gabe
If you damage your back you will suffer the effects for the rest of your life.
Get in touch with HSE and ask the local inspector to visit. You can contact them anonymously...and give them a list of things to look for.
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Posted By Paul Harrison
Hi
Just to let you know that if you go the formal route, it would be the LA EHO and not the HSE for enforcement in garden centres.
Cheers
Paul
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