Storage Eltham Health and Safety Policy
Storage Eltham is committed to providing and maintaining a safe and healthy working environment for all employees, contractors, visitors and clients. This policy supports our removal and storage operations and sets out the principles and responsibilities that guide our approach to health and safety across all activities.
We recognise that effective health and safety management is an integral part of delivering reliable removal and storage services. Our objective is to prevent accidents, incidents and work-related ill health by identifying hazards, assessing risks and putting robust control measures in place.
Policy Aims
The aims of this Health and Safety Policy are to:
Provide safe and healthy working conditions for all employees and others who may be affected by our work activities.
Prevent injuries, ill health, property damage and unsafe conditions related to removal and storage tasks.
Ensure that risks are identified, assessed and controlled as far as is reasonably practicable.
Promote a positive health and safety culture in which everyone understands their responsibilities.
Comply with all applicable health and safety legislation, regulations and recognised industry standards.
Management Responsibilities
Senior management at Storage Eltham holds overall responsibility for health and safety performance within the company. This includes:
Providing clear leadership and visible commitment to high health and safety standards.
Ensuring that adequate resources are made available for health and safety management, including equipment, training and supervision.
Setting objectives and reviewing health and safety performance regularly, including in the context of our removal operations and storage services.
Ensuring that safe working procedures are developed, implemented and periodically reviewed.
Investigating accidents, incidents and near misses to identify root causes and implement corrective actions.
Employee Responsibilities
Every employee of Storage Eltham has a duty to take reasonable care for their own health and safety and that of others who may be affected by their acts or omissions. Employees are expected to:
Follow all health and safety policies, safe systems of work and instructions provided by the company.
Use equipment, vehicles, tools and safety devices correctly and report any defects immediately.
Cooperate with management in implementing health and safety measures.
Report accidents, near misses, hazards or unsafe conditions without delay.
Attend required health and safety training and apply the knowledge in day to day work.
Refrain from any behaviour that could put themselves, colleagues, clients or the public at risk.
Risk Assessment and Safe Working Practices
Storage Eltham will conduct and maintain suitable and sufficient risk assessments for all significant activities, including packing, lifting, loading, transport, unloading, storage and related office tasks. These assessments will:
Identify foreseeable hazards, such as manual handling, slips and trips, vehicle movements, falls from height, and handling of heavy or awkward items.
Evaluate who might be harmed and how, including employees, contractors, clients, visitors and members of the public.
Determine appropriate control measures, such as safe lifting techniques, use of trolleys, ramps and securing devices, and clear access routes.
Be reviewed periodically and after any significant change in operations or following an incident.
Where necessary, written safe systems of work will be developed and communicated to all affected staff, particularly for complex removal tasks and storage handling operations.
Manual Handling and Use of Equipment
Manual handling is a key element of our removal and storage services. To reduce the risk of injury, Storage Eltham will:
Provide training in safe lifting, carrying, pushing and pulling techniques.
Plan lifting tasks to avoid unnecessary handling of heavy or awkward loads.
Make appropriate handling aids available, such as dollies, sack trucks, lifting straps and protective equipment.
Ensure that staff work in teams where loads cannot be handled safely by one person.
Regularly inspect equipment and remove from use anything found to be defective or unsafe.
Vehicles, Driving and Site Safety
Safe use of vehicles and safe working at client premises, storage areas and access points are essential for our operations. Storage Eltham will:
Ensure that vehicles are maintained in a safe and roadworthy condition.
Require drivers to hold the relevant licences and receive appropriate training, including loading and securing of loads.
Plan routes and parking arrangements to minimise risk to drivers, crew, clients and the public.
Use traffic management measures where reasonably practicable, such as designated loading zones, reversing assistance and clear signalling.
Assess site conditions at collection and delivery locations and adapt working methods to maintain safety.
Welfare, Health and Wellbeing
Storage Eltham recognises the importance of staff welfare and wellbeing for safe and effective operations. The company will:
Provide suitable welfare facilities, including access to rest breaks and drinking water.
Monitor working hours and workload to reduce the risk of fatigue, particularly for driving and physically demanding removal work.
Encourage staff to raise concerns about stress, fatigue or health issues that may affect their ability to work safely.
Support return to work after illness or injury with appropriate adjustments where possible.
Training, Information and Supervision
We will ensure that all employees receive adequate information, instruction, training and supervision proportionate to their role. This includes:
Induction training on health and safety for new starters.
Task specific training for removal crews, warehouse staff and drivers.
Ongoing refresher training to maintain and update knowledge.
Clear communication of changes to procedures or identified risks.
Supervision and monitoring to confirm that safe working practices are followed.
Contractors, Visitors and Clients
Storage Eltham will cooperate with contractors, visitors and clients to ensure that health and safety risks are properly controlled. This includes:
Providing relevant safety information about our activities where they may affect others.
Requesting information about any hazards or restrictions at client premises that could impact our work.
Ensuring that contractors working on our behalf are competent and aware of our health and safety expectations.
Continuous Improvement and Policy Review
Storage Eltham is committed to continuous improvement in health and safety performance. We will regularly review our systems, procedures and outcomes to identify opportunities for improvement. This Health and Safety Policy will be reviewed at least annually and whenever there are significant changes in our operations, legislation or best practice. Updates will be communicated to all employees and made available to interested parties.
By working together and taking shared responsibility, Storage Eltham aims to maintain a safe and healthy environment for everyone involved in our removal and storage services.
