Health and Safety policy

Health and Safety Policy for Man with Van Queen's Park

Man with Van Queen's Park is committed to providing a safe and healthy working environment for our employees, contractors, customers and members of the public who may be affected by our removal and delivery activities. This policy sets out our approach to managing health and safety during home moves, office relocations, furniture transport and related services.

Our Health and Safety Objectives

Our primary objectives are to prevent injury, ill health and property damage arising from our work. We aim to achieve this by assessing and controlling risks, maintaining safe systems of work, and promoting a strong safety culture throughout our removal operations.

Management Responsibilities

Management is responsible for implementing and reviewing this policy and ensuring that effective health and safety arrangements are in place. This includes:

Assessing the risks associated with lifting, carrying, loading, driving and working at different sites.

Providing appropriate training, instruction and supervision to staff and contractors.

Ensuring vehicles and equipment are suitable, properly maintained and safe to use.

Providing suitable personal protective equipment where necessary.

Investigating accidents, incidents and near misses and taking corrective action.

Reviewing this policy regularly and updating it in line with changes in legislation, guidance or our working practices.

Employee Responsibilities

Every member of our removal team has a duty to take reasonable care of their own health and safety and that of others who may be affected by their actions. Employees are required to:

Follow all safe working procedures and instructions provided during training and briefings.

Use equipment, tools and vehicles in accordance with guidance and not misuse or interfere with safety features.

Report hazards, defective equipment, unsafe conditions and near misses at the earliest opportunity.

Wear any personal protective equipment provided and look after it appropriately.

Cooperate with management to enable compliance with health and safety responsibilities.

Risk Assessment and Safe Systems of Work

We carry out risk assessments for our key activities, including house removals, flat moves, office relocation, loading and unloading, and the transportation of goods. These assessments consider hazards such as manual handling, working in confined spaces, traffic movement, trips and falls, and adverse weather conditions.

From these assessments we develop safe systems of work, which may include:

Planning access routes and parking locations for the van to minimise manual handling distances.

Using appropriate lifting techniques and team lifts for heavy or bulky items such as furniture and appliances.

Using handling aids such as trolleys, straps or dollies where practical.

Identifying fragile, sharp or hazardous items and handling them with additional care and protection.

Ensuring clear communication between team members during loading and unloading.

Manual Handling and Lifting

Manual handling is a significant part of removal work and is carefully managed to reduce the risk of injury. Our policy is to avoid hazardous manual handling where possible and to minimise risk where it cannot be avoided. We achieve this by:

Assessing the weight, size and shape of items before moving them.

Breaking down loads into smaller parts where feasible.

Using two-person lifts for heavy or awkward objects.

Providing training on correct posture, lifting technique and team coordination.

Encouraging staff to speak up if a load is too heavy or unsafe to move.

Vehicle Safety and Driving Standards

We recognise the risks associated with driving and operating vehicles during removal work. To manage these risks, we:

Ensure drivers are competent, appropriately licensed and familiar with the vehicles they operate.

Carry out regular checks and maintenance on vans to ensure they are roadworthy.

Secure all loads properly within the vehicle to prevent movement during transit.

Plan journeys to allow sufficient time, reducing pressure to rush or take unnecessary risks.

Encourage safe driving practices and adherence to traffic laws at all times.

Customer Premises and Public Safety

Our teams often work in and around customer homes, offices and shared spaces. We take care to protect customers, neighbours and the general public by:

Maintaining clear walkways and keeping access routes free from trip hazards such as straps, boxes and tools.

Using caution when carrying large items through doorways, corridors and stairwells.

Respecting building rules, communal areas and shared facilities.

Minimising noise and disruption where reasonably practicable.

Positioning vehicles safely to reduce the risk to pedestrians and other road users.

Training, Information and Supervision

We provide our staff with the information and training they need to work safely. This may include induction training, manual handling instruction, vehicle safety guidance, use of handling equipment and emergency procedures. New team members work under appropriate supervision until they are assessed as competent to carry out tasks independently.

Accident and Incident Reporting

All accidents, injuries, near misses and damage to property arising from our work must be reported to management as soon as possible. We record and investigate these events to understand what went wrong and to prevent recurrence. Where necessary, we will update our risk assessments, training or working methods in response to findings.

Consultation and Continuous Improvement

We encourage open communication on health and safety matters and welcome suggestions from staff and customers for improving our practices. By reviewing our work regularly and learning from experience, we aim to continually enhance safety standards across our removal services.

Policy Review

This Health and Safety Policy is reviewed periodically and whenever there are significant changes to our operations, services or relevant legislation. The latest version of the policy is made available to employees and can be provided to customers on request.