Man with Van Norbury Health and Safety Policy
This Health and Safety Policy sets out how Man with Van Norbury manages and controls risks to protect our customers, employees, contractors, the public, and property during removals, deliveries, and related transport services. Our aim is to provide a safe, reliable and professional moving service while complying with all relevant health and safety legislation and industry best practice.
Our Commitment to Health and Safety
Man with Van Norbury is committed to preventing injury, ill health, and damage to property arising from our activities. We will identify potential hazards associated with lifting, loading, transport, and working in and around customer premises and will put in place sensible measures to manage these risks. Health and safety responsibilities are integral to planning each removal job and to how our teams operate day to day.
We will review this policy regularly to ensure it remains effective and reflects current legislation, operational experience, and changes in our services.
Management Responsibilities
Management is responsible for implementing this Health and Safety Policy and for ensuring that adequate resources, training and supervision are provided. This includes:
Ensuring suitable risk assessments are carried out for our removal and delivery operations and that resulting control measures are applied in practice.
Providing appropriate work equipment, including vehicles, trolleys, lifting straps, protective gloves and other items required for safe handling of goods.
Maintaining vehicles and equipment in safe working condition and ensuring defects are promptly reported and addressed.
Ensuring all workers understand their health and safety duties and receive appropriate information and instruction.
Monitoring health and safety performance and investigating accidents, near misses, and complaints to prevent recurrence.
Employee Responsibilities
All staff working for Man with Van Norbury have a duty to take reasonable care for their own health and safety and that of others who may be affected by their actions. This includes:
Following safe systems of work, instructions, and training provided for lifting, loading, driving, and customer interaction.
Using equipment properly and not interfering with or misusing anything provided for health and safety purposes.
Immediately reporting hazards, accidents, near misses, and unsafe conditions to management so corrective action can be taken.
Cooperating with colleagues, management, customers and any regulators in health and safety matters.
Risk Assessment and Safe Working Practices
Before and during each job, our team will consider the specific risks associated with the property, route, items to be moved, and any special customer requirements. Where necessary, a more detailed risk assessment will be undertaken.
Safe working practices include:
Planning access routes, considering stairs, narrow corridors, uneven surfaces, and parking arrangements for safe loading and unloading.
Determining the correct number of staff required and using suitable equipment to handle heavy or bulky items.
Avoiding unsafe manual handling by assessing weight, shape, and stability of items before moving them, and using team lifts when needed.
Keeping work areas tidy and free from avoidable slip, trip and fall hazards such as loose packing materials and trailing straps.
Manual Handling and Lifting
Manual handling is a key part of removals and is a primary focus of our safety controls. Our approach includes:
Training staff to use safe lifting techniques, keep loads close to the body, and avoid twisting or overreaching.
Refusing to lift items that are too heavy or awkward to move safely without additional assistance or equipment.
Using mechanical aids such as sack trucks, dollies, platform trolleys and ramps where they reduce risk.
Taking particular care with fragile, sharp or unbalanced items, as well as high value or awkward furniture.
Vehicle Safety and Driving Standards
Safe operation of our vans is essential to protect staff, customers, the public and goods in transit. We will:
Ensure drivers hold the appropriate licence and are considered competent to operate the vehicle used.
Carry out regular checks on tyres, lights, brakes, mirrors, securing points and other safety related features.
Plan routes where practicable to minimise unnecessary risks, considering road conditions, access restrictions and loading areas.
Secure loads properly using straps and other fixing systems so that items do not shift during transit.
Instruct drivers to obey all traffic laws, avoid excessive speed, and adjust driving to weather, traffic and road conditions.
Customer Premises and Public Safety
We recognise our responsibility to protect people in and around customer locations where we are carrying out work. Our teams will:
Take care to protect floors, walls and fixtures where reasonably practicable to prevent damage and trip hazards.
Position vehicles and loading areas to minimise risk to pedestrians and other road users, avoiding obstruction where possible.
Use caution when moving large items through doorways, stairs and shared access areas to avoid injury to others.
Stop work immediately if a situation arises that presents significant danger and inform the customer while seeking a safer alternative approach.
Training, Information and Supervision
Man with Van Norbury provides ongoing training and instruction to staff to help them carry out their work safely and professionally. This includes:
Induction training on company health and safety rules, manual handling, vehicle safety and customer care.
On the job supervision for newer staff so that safe techniques become standard practice.
Refresher guidance where working methods change, new equipment is introduced or incident investigations highlight learning points.
Accident Reporting and Emergency Procedures
All accidents, incidents and near misses must be reported to management as soon as possible. We will record and, where relevant, investigate each event to determine the cause and implement measures to prevent recurrence.
Our staff are briefed on basic emergency procedures including how to raise the alarm, contact emergency services and protect the scene of an incident where it is safe to do so. In the event of injury, the priority is always the safety and wellbeing of people involved.
Review and Policy Communication
This Health and Safety Policy is communicated to all staff and is available to customers on request. It will be reviewed periodically and updated where required by changes in law, operations, or after significant incidents. By working together, we aim to deliver a safe, efficient and reliable removal and transport service throughout our operating area.
