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Is it best to push or pull a pump truck? I am worried about stability and health problems. At a recent training course staff were told to push them which I did not think was the best case.
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Rank: Super forum user
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scottmacs wrote:Is it best to push or pull a pump truck? I am worried about stability and health problems. At a recent training course staff were told to push them which I did not think was the best case.
It's better for your body to push but easier to loose control and have an accident because it's harder to maintian a straight line. I would expect the individual (armed with this knowledge) to make a judgement call based on the distance to be covered.
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Rank: Forum user
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I suspect that the trainer has highlighted that if you pull a 'pump truck' there is a tendency to twist at the waist or walk backwards, both actions which carry risks. It is strange then that the average truck appears to have been designed to be pulled.
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Rank: Super forum user
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Originally Posted by: O'  I suspect that the trainer has highlighted that if you pull a 'pump truck' there is a tendency to twist at the waist or walk backwards, both actions which carry risks. It is strange then that the average truck appears to have been designed to be pulled.
I think the basic design is older than the appreciation of manual handling risks.
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Rank: Super forum user
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The biggest problem with pump trucks when pulling is stopping the thing once you have the momentum going!! Easier to stop when pushing. Plus the school of though has always been its better to push than pull due to the levels of strain put on the body!
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Rank: Super forum user
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I worked with these for years and was always taught to push, less strain on back as you are not twisting to either see the truck or where you are going and you have greater control when pushing, also you don't run over yourself if you lose control.
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Rank: Super forum user
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farrell wrote:I worked with these for years and was always taught to push, less strain on back as you are not twisting to either see the truck or where you are going and you have greater control when pushing, also you don't run over yourself if you lose control.
Of course pushing or pulling depends on the distance you want to cover
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Rank: Super forum user
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Our warehouse people were told to push as first choice in their training, but they were also told to assess what they were doing & if pulling was the safest way then they could pull.
Sort of given the choice they pushed as a norm and we did not have any related health problems in the 4 years I was there.
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Rank: Forum user
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I was taught that it is better to push than pull, but again it can depend on the situation you are in.Pushing gives you a clearer view of your direction of travel and should help you spot any obstacles.
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Rank: Super forum user
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I'm surprised at the comments re pushing the pump trucks. We train all our staff (in our warehouses and stores) to pull pump trucks. I agree that this is not 100% ideal for manual handling, however the alternative (pushing) leads to much greater risks, in our opinion.
We identified that pushing pump trucks:
- the operator could not maintain control of the pump truck i.e. the steering could not be modulated and the truck veered off course (I personally found it impossible to push a truck in a straight line!)
- With pallets up to 1.8m height the operator cannot see the direction in front if pushing
- There is a greater risk of collision with pedestrians, as the truck is at the front. With pulling, this risk is almost eliminated due to the operator travelling in front and if a hazard presents itself (i.e. a pedestrian steps in front of the operator) the truck can be immediately stopped, and even if it couldn't it would be the operator not the truck colliding with the pedestrian, resulting in a lower severity of injury.
- Manufacturers recommendations state to pull the truck
- Pump trucks can be stopped immediately by depressing the handle to lower the pallet to the floor, almost instantaneously and much better than letting the pump truck coast to a stop.
Some of the above could be controlled by having a second operator "spot" during the operation to identify and alert persons, however this was not possible in our situation.
We felt that the risks of pushing were greater than the risks of pulling, and we have a very low accident / injury rate in relation to pump truck use and have always trained operatives to pull.
I guess it depends on application though, as every company will be different!
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Rank: Forum user
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No straight answer to this question. It all depends on weight, height, whether on/off trailers, numbers involved etc. Manual handling plays a big part in this one and your manual handling risk assessments will answer this.
With 13 years experience as a forklift instructor and in H&S I can help you on this. If you send me your email address I can send over a lot of information/assessments/training packages I put together for my old company.
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