Storage Norwood Green Health and Safety Policy
Storage Norwood Green is committed to providing a safe and healthy environment for employees, contractors, customers and visitors. This policy sets out our approach to managing health and safety risks associated with storage facilities, removals, handling of goods and associated activities on our premises or at customer locations.
Policy Statement
We aim to prevent injury, ill health and damage to property by identifying hazards, assessing risks and implementing sensible, proportionate controls. Health and safety considerations form an integral part of our planning and decision-making for storage operations, removals services, vehicle use and workplace maintenance.
Senior management is responsible for ensuring that adequate resources, information, training and supervision are provided so that this policy can be effectively implemented and maintained.
Legal Compliance and Responsibilities
Storage Norwood Green will comply with all relevant health and safety legislation, approved codes of practice and industry guidance applicable to storage, warehousing and removal activities. We will keep our arrangements under review to reflect changes in law, best practice and operational needs.
Every employee 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 must follow safety procedures, use equipment correctly, cooperate with training and report hazards or incidents without delay. Contractors working on our behalf are required to meet equivalent safety standards.
Risk Assessment and Safe Systems of Work
We will identify and assess risks associated with our activities, including but not limited to manual handling of goods, loading and unloading vehicles, use of lifting equipment, working in storage units, vehicle movements, slips, trips and falls, and fire safety.
Risk assessments will be carried out by competent persons and reviewed regularly or when there are significant changes to work practices, equipment or layout. The findings will be used to develop safe systems of work, method statements and operating procedures that are communicated clearly to all relevant staff.
Manual Handling and Lifting Operations
Much of our work involves the handling, packing, loading, transport and storage of customers possessions. To minimise the risk of musculoskeletal injuries and other harm, we will:
Ensure employees receive training in safe lifting techniques, including team lifting and the use of mechanical aids where appropriate. Avoid unnecessary manual handling by planning jobs carefully and using suitable equipment such as trolleys, sack trucks and lifting devices. Assess the weight, size, shape and condition of items before moving them and refuse to lift items that present an unacceptable risk. Encourage staff to seek assistance when moving bulky or heavy items rather than attempting to lift them alone.
Vehicles and Driving Safety
Where our operations involve the use of vehicles for removals or transport to and from storage facilities, we will take reasonable measures to ensure that vehicles are roadworthy, maintained and used safely. This includes pre use checks, appropriate loading and securing of goods, route planning where relevant and adherence to legal requirements for driving and parking.
Drivers must follow company procedures, obey the highway code, avoid unsafe manoeuvres and report any defects, incidents or near misses immediately to management.
Storage Facilities and Workplace Safety
We will maintain our storage areas, loading bays, corridors, stairways and external areas in a condition that minimises risks to staff, customers and visitors. This includes:
Keeping access routes clear and well lit, controlling trip hazards, and managing uneven surfaces where reasonably practicable. Providing suitable signage, including directional information and safety warnings where needed. Controlling access to storage units and restricted areas to authorised persons only. Ensuring that shelves, racking and stacking systems are suitable for the loads placed on them and are used in accordance with guidance.
Fire Safety and Emergency Procedures
Storage Norwood Green will take reasonable steps to reduce the risk of fire and to ensure a safe response should an emergency occur. We will conduct fire risk assessments, maintain fire detection and firefighting equipment, and provide clear instructions on emergency exits and evacuation routes.
Staff will receive information on fire safety arrangements, including the location of exits, assembly points and the procedure to follow on discovering or suspecting a fire. Customers and visitors must comply with instructions given by staff during any emergency.
Information, Training and Supervision
We will provide employees with appropriate information, instruction and training to carry out their duties safely, including induction training for new starters and refresher training when needed. Supervision levels will be set according to the complexity and risk of the tasks being undertaken.
Where work involves higher risk activities, such as complex removals, use of specialist equipment or working in unfamiliar environments, we will ensure that only competent and adequately trained staff undertake those tasks.
Customer and Visitor Responsibilities
Customers and visitors share a responsibility to help maintain a safe environment. They must follow safety notices, behave considerately within our facilities and take care when moving or stacking their possessions. Hazardous items, including substances that are flammable, explosive, toxic or otherwise dangerous, must not be stored or presented for removal unless explicitly permitted by our terms and clearly identified in advance.
Any concern about safety, damaged property or potential hazards should be reported promptly to a member of staff on site.
Accident Reporting and Investigation
All accidents, incidents and near misses occurring on our premises or during our operations must be reported to management as soon as reasonably practicable. We will record and, where appropriate, investigate incidents to identify root causes and introduce measures to prevent recurrence.
Information from incident reports and investigations will be used to improve our procedures, risk assessments and training programmes.
Continuous Improvement and Review
This health and safety policy will be reviewed regularly and whenever there are significant changes to our operations, facilities or relevant legislation. We will seek to improve our health and safety performance through monitoring, consultation with staff and learning from experience.
By working together, management, employees, contractors, customers and visitors all contribute to a safer environment at Storage Norwood Green and during any associated removals or transport services.
