Introduction to Health and Safety at Work

Positioning and installation of 
lifting equipment
Lifting equipment must be positioned and installed so as 
to reduce the risks, so far as is reasonably practicable, 
from:
➤
equipment or a load striking another person
➤
a load drifting, falling freely or being released unin-
tentionally and it is otherwise safe.
Lifting equipment should be positioned and installed 
to minimize the need to lift loads over people and to 
prevent crushing in extreme positions. It should be 
designed to stop safely in the event of a power failure 
and not release its load. Lifting equipment, which follows 
a fi xed path, should be enclosed with suitable and sub-
stantial interlocked gates and any necessary protection 
in the event of power failure.
1. Check suitable clothing
and assess load.
Heaviest side to body.
2. Place feet apart –
bend knees.
3. Firm grip – close to body
slight bending of back, hips
and knees at start
4. Life smoothly
to knee level and then
waist level. No further
bending of back.
5. With clear visibility move
forward without twisting.
Keep load close to the waist.
Turn by moving feet. Keep head
up do not look at load.
6. Set load down at waist level
or to knee level and then floor.
1
2
3
4
5
6
Figure 10.7
The main elements of a good lifting technique.

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Manual and mechanical handling hazards and control
149
10.4.2 The organization of lifting operations
Every lifting operation, that is lifting or lowering of a load, 
shall be:
➤
properly planned by a competent person
➤
appropriately 
supervised
➤
carried out in a safe manner.
The person planning the operation should have adequate 
practical and theoretical knowledge and experience of 
planning lifting operations. The plan needs to address 
the risks identifi ed by the risk assessment and identify 
the resources, the procedures and the responsibilities 
required so that any lifting operation is carried out safely. 
For routine simple lifts, a plan will normally be the respon-
sibility of the people using the lifting equipment. For com-
plex lifting operations, for example, where two cranes are 
used to lift one load, a written plan may need to be pro-
duced each time.
The planning should include: the need to avoid 
suspending loads over occupied areas, visibility, the 
attaching/detaching and securing of loads, the environ-
ment, the location, the possibility of overturning, the 
proximity to other objects, any lifting of people and the 
pre-use checks required for the equipment.