Afternoon all.  We are in the process of risk assessing placing cash trays into safes that can only be at floor level (bolted to the floor for security). It has been suggested that the ‘Knights position’  is used. I was informed by a colleague that when they went through retained fire-fighting training, they was trained up how to use the knights Position which is effectively going down on one knee when positioning an item at arms-length.

A quick look around Google did not yield any results. I was wondering if anyone else has come across this and if anyone is actually using it. I would like to find some guidance we use for training and a handout.

Any help would be really appreciated. Thanks.

Thanks Mark. I did see this image, but was not sure if this was a recognised technique as was not from the HSE. All the HSE guidance points to the squat lift so I'm not really that confident that this is good advice. Especially as we have had MH claims in the past. Just really wanted to know yours (and others) thoughts.

I always thought squatting was a bit ambitious for anybody beyond the age of about 35. Long gone are my slut dropping days, now I need a chair to help get back up!

You need to do the basic TILE risk assessment. Look at the tray-how heavy is it likely to be and how easy is it to manoeuvre into the safe?  How often will this task be performed- at the end of the shift on several times a day?  Finally who will be doing the task, some young whippersnapper or some older less flexible person?

How practical is it to raise the safe?   Do you need cash anyway?

As in most things there is no definitive answer, only what works best for you given you circumstances 

You could look into having roller bearing drawers fitted to the safes, they pull out to allow the load to be dropped vertically and slid into place. Less reaching, less strain. Just a thought.