[Pole 2 Pole]

Been gettin all sorts of niggly pains on my back and shoulders. I must lift a full backpack off the ground over a dozen times a day. I know i'm stating the obvious,but this must do some serious damage to muscles,also i been thinking about the weight that the straps have on your shoulders. This must trap nerves too. Anyone else got any thoughts on this. Mornin all 

[Alex Gardiner]

I have thought about this issue often. The only way to operate WFP system that would tie in with Health & Safety guidelines and protect you from RSI is to have a vehicle mounted system with fixed reels that you reel out and use.

Trolleys and Backpacks do pose a very real RSI risk when used for several years.

[Pole 2 Pole]

I think ya right alex. Amazingly it's never been mentioned on here to my knowledge. But yeh, i do believe after several years,it's gotta knacker ya. I do really worry about the "trapping of the nerve" bit tho. Can't be healthy at all 

[AuRavelling79]

When I went to a van I got a backpack for the backs of terraces etc. I'm a fairly big guy but the Shurflo filled to the brim weighed 18k of water plus battery pump and pack so about 25kg in all. I never put it on my back as it was too awkward and would simply lift it by it's straps and place it on the ground.

Along with damp switches and dodgy connections I consigned it to the back of the shed where it is home to the king of the spiders and all his court.

I now run a hose (microbore) everywhere.

If I had to use a backpack now I would make sure I had a long enough pole hose or similar so that I could work up to say 20 metres from it, resting it on the ground. Maybe put it on a light wheeled shopping trolley frame like granny going to the shops!

[trevor perry]

I have thought about this issue often. The only way to operate WFP system that would tie in with Health & Safety guidelines and protect you from RSI is to have a vehicle mounted system with fixed reels that you reel out and use.

Trolleys and Backpacks do pose a very real RSI risk when used for several years.

everything has its own issues, backpacks if used constantly will raise these issues but also using a vehicle mounted system in heavy pedestrian areas has its own dangers due to trailing hoses, what we have to do is have a variety of tools including ladders and then use the safest one for the job we are tackling with the nanny state as it is i only think it will be a matter of time before they restrict the height we can go with wfp and also the duration used before a rest is taken.

[Glyn H]

Best advice I could offer is to attend a manual handling course, these are offered by various training organisations.
A 25Kg lift is now the limit for many large organisations for a lone lift,with a recommended max of 30 lifts per hour.

This low limit is supprising as it was normal practice for labourers to lift and carry hundreds of bags of sand,cement etc. on building sites at more than twice that weight.

[tomy jackson]

iv got the hudson its got the handel so i just cary it iv tryed it on my back but after a week or two i thort this is not the way , put it on sack cart just onece it fell over brock sumert carnt remeber wot .so i cary it .iv only ever used it for the odd job wich is brill , i codent imagin useing it all day , its got its place but not full time

[matt]

Best advice I could offer is to attend a manual handling course, these are offered by various training organisations.
A 25Kg lift is now the limit for many large organisations for a lone lift,with a recommended max of 30 lifts per hour.

This low limit is supprising as it was normal practice for labourers to lift and carry hundreds of bags of sand,cement etc. on building sites at more than twice that weight.

i know when i was a carpenter on site, when a BIG delivery came to site after 3 in the afternoon ( we would go home at 4.30 ) most would help out and unload the lorry, it wasnt unheard of to carry THREE 50 KG bags, i thought it was crazy and stuck with 2 (still 100 KG) i was a fairly big bloke aswell not your 8 stone weakling

i had a e.mail off a guy i used to chat to in my daughters pre-school, he was a dad of a lad in the class ( 2 years ago ), can i give them a price for a job, so i give him a price and the full RA and H&S package, he says to me " do you still use them drums, no i reply, i explained about my hernia and ive stopped lifting them, the reason he asked

his company has a 10 KG lift policy, 1 person can only lift 10 KG alone ? ? ? ?

i said soon they will have to have trolleys to wheel in briefcases and lunch box's from the car

[trevor perry]

Best advice I could offer is to attend a manual handling course, these are offered by various training organisations.
A 25Kg lift is now the limit for many large organisations for a lone lift,with a recommended max of 30 lifts per hour.

This low limit is supprising as it was normal practice for labourers to lift and carry hundreds of bags of sand,cement etc. on building sites at more than twice that weight.

this is true the 25kg lift is now the limit but that weight is lifting from waist height for a grown man the weight restriction drops even more if the weight is lifted from floor level and if your a woman lifting from floor i think of memory it is down to about 5kg, when i went on the iosh course this frightened me to death as basically in our job these restrictions are near enough unworkable and if an employee pulls his back we could be in for a claim.

[trevor perry]

i was once on one job when i saw the security officer weighing a bunch of keys curiosity got the better of me and i had to ask "do you mind me asking what you are doing that for" his reply was that" he thought having the bunch of keys fastened to one side of his belt all day was causing him major back problems and was weighing them to report the findings to the HSE" i felt like saying maybe you should weigh your fat arse too as i think that is more likely to be your problem but i resisted the temptation.

[matt]

i was once on one job when i saw the security officer weighing a bunch of keys curiosity got the better of me and i had to ask "do you mind me asking what you are doing that for" his reply was that" he thought having the bunch of keys fastened to one side of his belt all day was causing him major back problems and was weighing them to report the findings to the HSE" i felt like saying maybe you should weigh your fat arse too as i think that is more likely to be your problem but i resisted the temptation.

classic 

i bet he was laughing when he got his 7 K payout though  : :

[gary999]

i have been lifting heavy weights all my life and a backpack is not a problem
you can injure yourself from just bending down.i lift my back pack at least a
dozen times if it became an issue i think i would give up ..... :

in fact ive carried heavier weights when i have carried shopping
to the car

[trevor perry]

i have been lifting heavy weights all my life and a backpack is not a problem
you can injure yourself from just bending down.i lift my back pack at least a
dozen times if it became an issue i think i would give up ..... :

in fact ive carried heavier weights when i have carried shopping
to the car

totally agree infact if you never lift anything then sudenly need to then you are more likely to pull your back but someone who is lifting weights all day develop muscles that support the spine and so help prevent injuries, the problem comes with the claim culture, there is no way i would make one of my employees lift something that he didnt feel capable of lifting but surely it should be upto each individual what they lift and not some blanket rule.

[Glyn H]

I was paid 60p a ton as a meat porter at Smithfield meat market in the mid 1970s  - Now days it would take a week to porter a ton!

[weetot]

I was told not to lift heavy weights, so now I dont bother going to the toilet...........................................................Ok i'll get me coat.

[Tosh]

Been gettin all sorts of niggly pains on my back and shoulders. I must lift a full backpack off the ground over a dozen times a day.

Why lift it full of water?  You don't have to?  Just put in what you need.  If you plan your work then there's not that much heavy lifting to do.

[Pole 2 Pole]

Tosh......Tosh...what am i supposed to fill it with fella??? Lucozade???

[Tosh]

Tosh......Tosh...what am i supposed to fill it with fella??? Lucozade???

 

There's definately a knack to using the backpack, like anything; don't fill it full of water if you've only got a couple of windows to do.  It'd probably be easier to transport a 25 litre barrel of water on a trolley and keep that handy.

Since I work with Wor Lass, I generally do 'tops only', but she'll only work till about 2.00 pm before her nose starts bleeding; so I like to drop her off home and then head out and do £15 to £20 drive-between accounts; maybe 1 to 4 of them; depending on how many I've got due; and I'll do these 100% WFP, since it's easy to do.

So for these 100% WFP jobs, sometimes I'll fill five 25 litre barrels three-quarters full so I'm not lugging all that weight about; but it'll give me enough water to do them all.

You've just got to use a bit of common-sense.

[matt]

ive ditched lifting them ( i had to )

now i have a sub pump in the van, sub pump from van tank to empty 25 L barrel in my cart, takes under 2 mins to refill the barrel

so the only lifting i do is the battery ( and i am looking into something lighter ) and the sack truck out of the van at the start of the day and back in at the end of the day

then i will have my hose for houses where i dont do the whole street, pull out hose and away i go

[ftp]

I'm going to carry two wallets from now on because just the one is pulling my back out i'm sure!