Health and Safety Executive

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Shelf stacking

These pages help you to:

Working conditions

Questions to ask include:

Height

How high is the job from the ground?

Surface

What surface will the access equipment rest on? (e.g. the shelves, a partition wall)

Is this surface strong enough to take the weight of the workers and their equipment?

Ground

What is the ground condition under the area where access equipment might need to be set up - for example, is it sloping, slippery or uneven? The access equipment you use must be suitable for the ground conditions - stable, level and not liable to fall or collapse.

If you fall, what will you fall on to?

Conditions

What are lighting levels like in the area you will be working? Are other people or vehicles like fork lift trucks around?

Task

What tools or materials will you need for shelf stacking? How will the items up and down safely? Are they heavy or awkward to carry?

Types of access

When looking at what you need to do the job, think about the following...

From the ground Can the items be stored nearer to ground level?
From a platform Can you do the work from podium steps, Mobile Elevated Work Platform (MEWP) or cherry picker?
Fall protection Can you use personal fall protection to allow safe access?
From a ladder Is the work low risk and short duration?
Do you have a ladder that will reach the area?
Can you secure the ladder safely?
Can you or your workers use the ladder safely?

Tips for safe working

Further reading

From experience

Good practice:

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2012-09-20