Health and Safety Policy for Removal Van Surrey
Removal Van Surrey is committed to providing a safe and healthy working environment for all employees, contractors, customers and members of the public who may be affected by our removals and transport activities. This Health and Safety Policy sets out our approach to managing risks associated with household and commercial removals, loading and unloading, driving, manual handling and related services across our operational area.
Policy Statement and Objectives
Our objective is to prevent injury, ill health, damage to property and harm to the environment as a result of our work. We will identify and manage health and safety risks, comply with applicable health and safety legislation and regularly review our arrangements to support continuous improvement. Health and safety considerations are integral to planning and delivering every removal job.
All managers and employees share responsibility for health and safety. We expect everyone working on our behalf to co-operate fully with this policy, follow safe systems of work and promptly report hazards, incidents and near misses.
Management Responsibilities
The management team at Removal Van Surrey is responsible for implementing and maintaining this Health and Safety Policy. Management will ensure that appropriate resources, training, equipment and supervision are provided so that health and safety standards are met and improved over time.
Management duties include assessing risks associated with our removal services, developing safe working procedures, maintaining vehicles and equipment in a safe condition, consulting with staff on health and safety matters, monitoring performance and taking corrective action where necessary.
Employee Responsibilities
All employees, including drivers, porters and office staff, must take reasonable care of their own health and safety and that of others who may be affected by their actions or omissions. Employees are required to follow all training and instructions provided, use equipment correctly, report any defects in vehicles or tools, and immediately inform management of accidents, near misses or unsafe conditions encountered during work.
Employees must not misuse or interfere with any equipment provided for health and safety purposes and must co-operate fully with any investigation or review following an incident.
Risk Assessment and Safe Systems of Work
Removal Van Surrey undertakes suitable and proportionate risk assessments for its operations. This includes assessment of risks associated with manual handling of furniture and boxes, use of lifting equipment, vehicle movements, working on or near roadways, work at height when necessary and customer site-specific hazards such as restricted access or uneven ground.
Findings from risk assessments are used to develop safe systems of work and method statements. These are communicated to relevant staff, and where appropriate, explained to customers before work begins. Risk assessments are reviewed regularly and whenever there are changes to our activities, equipment, premises or relevant legislation.
Manual Handling and Use of Equipment
Manual handling risks are a key focus for our removals activities. Employees receive training in correct lifting and carrying techniques, team handling, use of trolleys, ramps, and other handling aids. Where practical, mechanical aids are used to reduce the strain of moving heavy or awkward items.
All tools and equipment are inspected and maintained at appropriate intervals. Defective equipment must not be used and is removed from service until repaired or replaced. Only trained and authorised personnel may operate specialised equipment.
Vehicle Safety and Driving Standards
Safe driving is essential to our operation. All drivers must hold the appropriate licence for the vehicles they operate and comply with road traffic law, company driving standards and any relevant duty time and rest requirements.
Vehicles are inspected regularly, with daily checks carried out by drivers and planned maintenance by competent professionals. Loads are secured to prevent movement during transit and vehicles are loaded within safe weight limits. Routes are planned to allow sufficient travel time, taking account of weather, traffic and access constraints, to reduce the risk of accidents caused by rushing or fatigue.
Customer Premises and Public Safety
We recognise our responsibility to protect customers and members of the public while work is being carried out. Staff are required to maintain clear walkways where practicable, set down loads safely and avoid blocking fire exits or access routes. Where necessary, staff will use warning signs or verbal communication to make customers aware of trip hazards, moving vehicles or other risks whilst loading and unloading.
We take care to prevent damage to customer property and to avoid creating hazards such as loose packaging, debris or unstable stacked items.
Training, Information and Supervision
Removal Van Surrey provides information, instruction and training appropriate to each role. This may include induction training, manual handling, safe use of vehicles and equipment, hazard awareness, incident reporting procedures and emergency arrangements. Refresher training is provided as needed and when new equipment or procedures are introduced.
Supervisors and managers monitor adherence to safe systems of work during removal operations, offering guidance and correction where necessary. Additional supervision is provided for new or inexperienced staff until they are competent to work safely with less oversight.
Accident Reporting and Investigation
All accidents, incidents and near misses occurring in connection with our work must be reported promptly to management. Details are recorded and investigated to identify root causes and to implement corrective or preventive measures. Where required, incidents will be reported to the relevant enforcing authorities in accordance with applicable regulations.
Lessons learned from investigations are communicated to staff and used to update risk assessments and procedures, helping to prevent similar occurrences in the future.
Health, Welfare and Wellbeing
We recognise that health and safety covers both physical and mental wellbeing. Reasonable steps are taken to ensure working hours are managed to reduce fatigue, that staff have access to suitable welfare facilities during their working day and that any health concerns that may affect the safe performance of duties are identified and managed sensitively.
We encourage open communication so that employees feel able to raise concerns about workload, stress or any issue that may impact their health or safety at work.
Review of this Policy
This Health and Safety Policy is reviewed regularly and updated when necessary to reflect changes in our business activities, legislation or best practice. The revised policy will be communicated to all employees and made available to customers on request.
Removal Van Surrey is committed to continually improving its health and safety performance and to fostering a positive safety culture in all aspects of its removals and transport services.
