Employer asking us to move items that are approximately 1000 lbs each from one building to another.
We will need to move 5 of these machines out of a building and somehow load them onto a truck. We are not movers we work with small items and sit at desks all day. I feel like this is a safety iss...
How do they expect you to move them? A pallet jack? Are they on wheels? I'm having a hard time figuring out how it's even possible for you to physically move 1000lb pieces of equipment.
This is a company in the USA. The items are on wheels but we have no loading dock so I guess we are to do this on the side walk or in the street. They said we would have a truck they are renting with some kind of lift, but we are expected to operate it and none of us have ever done anything like this. I have already told them this is a safety issue and management agreed that it was, but now that is being ignored.
I would recommend standing your ground and refusing to move the items. Good for you this kind of thing could result in death let alone serious permanent injury.
How to do this? Start with what's "What's our budget?" Use the money to hire someone who knows what the heck they're doing wrt moving stuff. I think @bednarjm's answer is on the right track.
Please add the location of the company to your question. I know nothing about USA laws, but I'm pretty sure there are standards and safety regulations that prohibit the lifting of such heavy items by not specifically trained and equipped personnel. I'm also sure there are authorities (workers union, a city department, your local sheriff, I don't know) to report such misdeeds and prevent an imminent accident with possible injuries and/or worst things...
Please record a video of you guys moving this stuff. I watch "worker fails" videos on YouTube all the time. They always start where you can tell it's going to fail before they begin.
@erickson One person slips, the load falls on another who can't take up the slack and the next thing you know there is a 1000lb missile flying out of control down a steep hill on a public road. Do you want to be the person who has to explain to some parents why their little daughter got crushed to death while standing on the side of the road waiting for the traffic light to change?
What kind of machines are these? I know in our workplace, most of the big machines like copiers and printers are leased equipment, and we are strictly forbidden from moving them around once they are placed.
Try Googling "What's your injury worth". Print out the results and leave them on the community printer at the office. Maybe drop one or two on the floor around where the executives sit. Oh, and don't forget human resources.
I know someone who regularly installs MRI and X-Ray equipment which is of similar weight/scale. Even professional licensed and bonded movers have a difficult time at that weight. The risks are significant at that scale and they use specialized equipment (think dolly that actively resists rolling). You're almost outside of risk as a "possibility" and into a "guarantee".
Please move information in comments into the main question.
Specifically whose decision is this? Request this in writing and signed. Along with their contingency plans for when one gets away from you down the slope. They need your help to be more aware of the potential consequences. There are Navy hoisting manuals for huge loads - find one and make a plan, review it with the decision maker. If you cannot avoid doing this, back the trucks with lifting equipment up to the doors, across landscaping if needed. On a slope, AT MINIMUM have multiple wheel chocks and wedges that will brake the machines, use 3 - 1000lbs+ winches, etc. Otherwise: walk.
Tell them your concerns, print this, print your concerns. Tell them that you will, not take part, and that you will pass the document to the judge if there is a problem. Tell you colleagues, that they can choose to stop at any time.
Ensure that the management are involved. Get them to demonstrate how to do it. If they can't then don't do it (The don't tell me to do what you can not do yourself, principle. Not always applicable, but you can invoke it whenever you are asked to do something that you feel you are not equipped to do).
@PeterM That's why I'd want the redundancy of four people. Even on a very steep (10% grade), a 1000 lb load requires a countering force of about 100 lb. Two could do it if everything goes okay, but with four, if one slips, the others see their load go from 25 to 33 lb, and can easily compensate.
@erickson First of all you are right, the OP has stated that they have no experience. But this is not the place for on the job learning. Secondly the OP has stated a 45 degree sidewalk. Even if that is an exaggeration (but 45 depress is plausible), that it is significantly more than a 10% slope. Thirdly, it's on a public sidewalk - so there is a huge public liability aspect as well. It all points to using professional movers who have experience doing their job.
The steepest recorded road in the USA is Canton Avenue which is about 20 degrees, so 45 degrees is definitely an exaggeration. That said, a slope of only 5 degrees is very steep and can be dangerous.
Lot of people contesting the 45 degrees part. I wasn't trying to be exact and I have not gone out there with my protractor. It's probably not 45 degrees, but lets just say its the kind of hill that if you parked on it you'd use your hand break.
@JacobM. It really depends a lot on the equipment and the slope of the surface. I regularly push and pull 2,000+ pound airplanes around by myself, as does almost every other private pilot in the world. I've also pushed around my 3,000+ pound car on occasion. Granted, I would certainly not do either of those things on a steep slope like that described by the OP.
If I had to make a realistic estimate I would say its 15-20 degrees. Its not so much a road as it is an ally between buildings. The whole town is on a big hill basically.
If management don't care about their employees (which they clearly don't just by asking for this idiotic action), they presumably care about their business costs, which will go up a lot when an insurance company gets involved and finds out non-professionals were moving this expensive and extremely heavy load. Mention that to the PHBs. And courts are happy to issue punitive damages when they find out negligence was involved if there is an accident.
@PeterM Maybe it's just me, but I wouldn't feel good about explaining to a little girl why her daddy has been crushed to death while standing on the side of the road waiting for the traffic light to change.
Discussion on question by user88622: …
Discussion on question by user88622: …