Has anyone got experience or an opinion on these?
http://www.shoulderdolly...urniture-lifting-straps/

I've never heard of them before but come across them for a company delivering wooden furniture to construction sites. They are a last resort.

umm is it just me or does anyone else think when they start to walk the item will rock back and forth and the shorter woman is likely to get a mouth full of washing machine ?

She may not actually be smiling but wearing those gum/ teeth guards that rugby players use!

I especially liked in the instructions :-

7.There may be excess webbing after you lift the object. To ensure that you don’t trip over the excess webbing, tie it around your body, or tuck it into your pants.

I guess buy one and give it a go, has to be worth it for comic value, especially when you tell them they have to put excess webbing in their pants !!

Please you tube it for us, including giving them the instructions.

Who knows it may work.

HSL looked at these back in 2006. I don't know whether they ever followed up on their recommendations for more research.

See their report here

http://www.hse.gov.uk/re...hsl_pdf/2006/hsl0687.pdf

The youtube video seems to include a classic demonstration of how NOT to use the shoulder dolly system effectively. When the 2 men took the bulky item up the external stairway they failed to try and keep the item upright in order to continue sharing the load equally. The notably shorter man at the back took most of the weight of the item while it was inclined.

Graham B

Thank you very much for your responses.

I was concerned but didn't want to come over as the H&S jobsworth! You have given me a few ideas on how I can focus my concerns - the first being you can't just issue them without training people how to use them.

Lucy

Hi,
I used these shoulder dollies for a couple of years when I was working for a company delivering white goods e.g, washing machines, cookers and fridge freezers. The job was on a self employed contract so we had to obtain our own equipment. All 32 crews used these shoulder dollies as they were cheap, around £40 and perfect for the job.
Myself and my brother used to deliver american fridge freezers up flights of stairs in apartments and office buildings without any problems.
They do take a little practice and technique, but once masted they are great! You don't have the bending and twisting constraints that you would have without it?
You are lifting, taking and carrying the weight with a straight back at all times.

Hi Chris42,

No. Its a really cleaver bit of simple kit that really does work! Especially with heavy bulky items. I still use one at home as I have a log burner and when we get our logs delivered in a big dumpy bag we can't get the van near our house as we live down a very narrow lane. So we put the shoulder dolly strap under the bag and off we go for about 20 yards. The dumpy bag is a little awkward as it has no solid base, but we could not lift it any other way? Don't get me wrong its heavy! but it works.