{"id":2885,"date":"2023-04-14T12:43:23","date_gmt":"2023-04-14T12:43:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bpfonline.co.uk\/blog\/?p=2885"},"modified":"2026-01-28T12:31:31","modified_gmt":"2026-01-28T12:31:31","slug":"how-to-lift-heavy-items-safely","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bpfonline.co.uk\/blog\/how-to-lift-heavy-items-safely\/","title":{"rendered":"How to lift heavy items safely"},"content":{"rendered":"

Incorrect lifting can cause injury and, as an employer, it\u2019s your responsibility to protect your employees from the risk of manual handling injuries. Wherever possible, it\u2019s always better to avoid lifting heavy equipment, but this isn\u2019t always an option. So, where that\u2019s not possible, teaching and encouraging good handling techniques when lifting heavy furniture or equipment is a great place to start.<\/p>\n

\u00a0How to lift correctly:<\/h3>\n
    \n
  1. Plan ahead. Where are you lifting from and to? Move anything that might be in your way to reduce the risk of trips and falls while carrying your load. If you have a long way to go, is there something you can rest on midway between your start point and your destination? Make sure you\u2019re wearing comfortable clothing where you can bend properly. Ensure your footwear has an effective grip to avoid slipping.<\/li>\n
  2. When lifting, keep the load close to your waist with the heaviest side of the load nearest your body. If you can\u2019t get close to the load before you start to lift, try sliding the object towards you before lifting.<\/li>\n
  3. Keep your feet hip-width apart with one leg in front of the other for optimum stability.<\/li>\n
  4. Hug the load tightly to your body \u2013 you may find that this allows you to get a stronger grip on the item you\u2019re moving.<\/li>\n
  5. Bending slightly at the back, hips and knees is better than fully stooping or bending as you lift upwards. Once you\u2019ve started the lift, be careful not to further flex your back.<\/li>\n
  6. Keep your shoulders level and face the same direction your hips are facing. Avoid twisting or leaning sideways \u2013 particularly while your back is bent. If you need to rotate, use your feet to reposition, rather than twisting from the waist.<\/li>\n
  7. Keep your head up, move smoothly to avoid snatching at or jerking the load as this is more likely to result in an injury. And finally, never, never lift more than you can handle.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Where such equipment or furniture needs to be moved regularly, castors could be a good solution. By fitting castors to the feet of equipment or furniture, you can encourage employees to roll or slide heavy equipment rather than lift it. You can read more about using castors on your furniture and equipment in our recent blog \u2018Threaded feet or castors?<\/a>\u2019.<\/p>\n

    If you have any questions about any of our products, you can chat with our friendly advisors online<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Incorrect lifting can cause injury and, as an employer, it\u2019s your responsibility to protect your employees from the risk of manual handling injuries. Wherever possible, it\u2019s always better to avoid lifting heavy equipment, but this isn\u2019t always an option. So, where that\u2019s not possible, teaching and encouraging good handling techniques when lifting heavy furniture or […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1523,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[448,3],"tags":[13,88,449,221,20],"class_list":["post-2885","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bpf-how-to-guides","category-news","tag-bpf","tag-castors","tag-how-to-guide","tag-lift-heavy-items","tag-office-furniture"],"yoast_head":"\r\nHow to lift heavy items safely - BPF Online Blog<\/title>\r\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"When it\u2019s not possible to roll or slide heavy furniture or equipment it\u2019s important to life correctly to avoid injury. Here\u2019s our advice on how to lift heavy items safely.\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\r\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bpfonline.co.uk\/blog\/how-to-lift-heavy-items-safely\/\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How to lift heavy items safely - BPF Online Blog\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"When it\u2019s not possible to roll or slide heavy furniture or equipment it\u2019s important to life correctly to avoid injury. Here\u2019s our advice on how to lift heavy items safely.\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.bpfonline.co.uk\/blog\/how-to-lift-heavy-items-safely\/\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"BPF Online Blog\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-04-14T12:43:23+00:00\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-01-28T12:31:31+00:00\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.bpfonline.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Industrial_castors.jpg\" \/>\r\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"491\" \/>\r\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"490\" \/>\r\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"bpfadmin\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"bpfadmin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\r\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.bpfonline.co.uk\\\/blog\\\/how-to-lift-heavy-items-safely\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.bpfonline.co.uk\\\/blog\\\/how-to-lift-heavy-items-safely\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"bpfadmin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.bpfonline.co.uk\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/bc7c7da42fa3c0c54f76c58e95471af8\"},\"headline\":\"How to lift heavy items safely\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-04-14T12:43:23+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-01-28T12:31:31+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.bpfonline.co.uk\\\/blog\\\/how-to-lift-heavy-items-safely\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":417,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.bpfonline.co.uk\\\/blog\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.bpfonline.co.uk\\\/blog\\\/how-to-lift-heavy-items-safely\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.bpfonline.co.uk\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2019\\\/08\\\/Industrial_castors.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"BPF\",\"Castors\",\"How To Guide\",\"lift heavy items\",\"Office Furniture\"],\"articleSection\":[\"How To's\",\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.bpfonline.co.uk\\\/blog\\\/how-to-lift-heavy-items-safely\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.bpfonline.co.uk\\\/blog\\\/how-to-lift-heavy-items-safely\\\/\",\"name\":\"How to lift heavy items safely - BPF Online Blog\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.bpfonline.co.uk\\\/blog\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.bpfonline.co.uk\\\/blog\\\/how-to-lift-heavy-items-safely\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.bpfonline.co.uk\\\/blog\\\/how-to-lift-heavy-items-safely\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.bpfonline.co.uk\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2019\\\/08\\\/Industrial_castors.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-04-14T12:43:23+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-01-28T12:31:31+00:00\",\"description\":\"When it\u2019s not possible to roll or slide heavy furniture or equipment it\u2019s important to life correctly to avoid injury. Here\u2019s our advice on how to lift heavy items safely.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.bpfonline.co.uk\\\/blog\\\/how-to-lift-heavy-items-safely\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.bpfonline.co.uk\\\/blog\\\/how-to-lift-heavy-items-safely\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.bpfonline.co.uk\\\/blog\\\/how-to-lift-heavy-items-safely\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.bpfonline.co.uk\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2019\\\/08\\\/Industrial_castors.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.bpfonline.co.uk\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2019\\\/08\\\/Industrial_castors.jpg\",\"width\":491,\"height\":490,\"caption\":\"How To Choose The Right Castor for Office Furniture\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.bpfonline.co.uk\\\/blog\\\/how-to-lift-heavy-items-safely\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.bpfonline.co.uk\\\/blog\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"How to lift heavy items safely\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.bpfonline.co.uk\\\/blog\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.bpfonline.co.uk\\\/blog\\\/\",\"name\":\"BPF Online Blog\",\"description\":\"Banbury Plastic Fittings Ltd. Blog\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.bpfonline.co.uk\\\/blog\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.bpfonline.co.uk\\\/blog\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.bpfonline.co.uk\\\/blog\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"BPF Online Blog\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.bpfonline.co.uk\\\/blog\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.bpfonline.co.uk\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.bpfonline.co.uk\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/12\\\/cropped-cropped-cropped-BPF-and-BOX15-Merger-Logo-1.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.bpfonline.co.uk\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/12\\\/cropped-cropped-cropped-BPF-and-BOX15-Merger-Logo-1.jpg\",\"width\":512,\"height\":512,\"caption\":\"BPF Online Blog\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.bpfonline.co.uk\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.bpfonline.co.uk\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/bc7c7da42fa3c0c54f76c58e95471af8\",\"name\":\"bpfadmin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/ac1f1b0450cf948643e32e766aca441337fa48e54180e5930ab5f7c3aef3f4a8?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/ac1f1b0450cf948643e32e766aca441337fa48e54180e5930ab5f7c3aef3f4a8?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/ac1f1b0450cf948643e32e766aca441337fa48e54180e5930ab5f7c3aef3f4a8?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"bpfadmin\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.bpfonline.co.uk\\\/blog\\\/author\\\/bpfadmin\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\r\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"How to lift heavy items safely - BPF Online Blog","description":"When it\u2019s not possible to roll or slide heavy furniture or equipment it\u2019s important to life correctly to avoid injury. Here\u2019s our advice on how to lift heavy items safely.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.bpfonline.co.uk\/blog\/how-to-lift-heavy-items-safely\/","og_locale":"en_GB","og_type":"article","og_title":"How to lift heavy items safely - BPF Online Blog","og_description":"When it\u2019s not possible to roll or slide heavy furniture or equipment it\u2019s important to life correctly to avoid injury. Here\u2019s our advice on how to lift heavy items safely.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.bpfonline.co.uk\/blog\/how-to-lift-heavy-items-safely\/","og_site_name":"BPF Online Blog","article_published_time":"2023-04-14T12:43:23+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-01-28T12:31:31+00:00","og_image":[{"width":491,"height":490,"url":"https:\/\/www.bpfonline.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Industrial_castors.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"bpfadmin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"bpfadmin","Estimated reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.bpfonline.co.uk\/blog\/how-to-lift-heavy-items-safely\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.bpfonline.co.uk\/blog\/how-to-lift-heavy-items-safely\/"},"author":{"name":"bpfadmin","@id":"https:\/\/www.bpfonline.co.uk\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/bc7c7da42fa3c0c54f76c58e95471af8"},"headline":"How to lift heavy items safely","datePublished":"2023-04-14T12:43:23+00:00","dateModified":"2026-01-28T12:31:31+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.bpfonline.co.uk\/blog\/how-to-lift-heavy-items-safely\/"},"wordCount":417,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.bpfonline.co.uk\/blog\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.bpfonline.co.uk\/blog\/how-to-lift-heavy-items-safely\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.bpfonline.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Industrial_castors.jpg","keywords":["BPF","Castors","How To Guide","lift heavy items","Office Furniture"],"articleSection":["How To's","News"],"inLanguage":"en-GB"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.bpfonline.co.uk\/blog\/how-to-lift-heavy-items-safely\/","url":"https:\/\/www.bpfonline.co.uk\/blog\/how-to-lift-heavy-items-safely\/","name":"How to lift heavy items safely - BPF Online Blog","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.bpfonline.co.uk\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.bpfonline.co.uk\/blog\/how-to-lift-heavy-items-safely\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.bpfonline.co.uk\/blog\/how-to-lift-heavy-items-safely\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.bpfonline.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Industrial_castors.jpg","datePublished":"2023-04-14T12:43:23+00:00","dateModified":"2026-01-28T12:31:31+00:00","description":"When it\u2019s not possible to roll or slide heavy furniture or equipment it\u2019s important to life correctly to avoid injury. Here\u2019s our advice on how to lift heavy items safely.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.bpfonline.co.uk\/blog\/how-to-lift-heavy-items-safely\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-GB","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.bpfonline.co.uk\/blog\/how-to-lift-heavy-items-safely\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/www.bpfonline.co.uk\/blog\/how-to-lift-heavy-items-safely\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.bpfonline.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Industrial_castors.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.bpfonline.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Industrial_castors.jpg","width":491,"height":490,"caption":"How To Choose The Right Castor for Office Furniture"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.bpfonline.co.uk\/blog\/how-to-lift-heavy-items-safely\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.bpfonline.co.uk\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"How to lift heavy items safely"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.bpfonline.co.uk\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.bpfonline.co.uk\/blog\/","name":"BPF Online Blog","description":"Banbury Plastic Fittings Ltd. Blog","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.bpfonline.co.uk\/blog\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.bpfonline.co.uk\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-GB"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.bpfonline.co.uk\/blog\/#organization","name":"BPF Online Blog","url":"https:\/\/www.bpfonline.co.uk\/blog\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/www.bpfonline.co.uk\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.bpfonline.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/cropped-cropped-cropped-BPF-and-BOX15-Merger-Logo-1.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.bpfonline.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/cropped-cropped-cropped-BPF-and-BOX15-Merger-Logo-1.jpg","width":512,"height":512,"caption":"BPF Online Blog"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.bpfonline.co.uk\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.bpfonline.co.uk\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/bc7c7da42fa3c0c54f76c58e95471af8","name":"bpfadmin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ac1f1b0450cf948643e32e766aca441337fa48e54180e5930ab5f7c3aef3f4a8?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ac1f1b0450cf948643e32e766aca441337fa48e54180e5930ab5f7c3aef3f4a8?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ac1f1b0450cf948643e32e766aca441337fa48e54180e5930ab5f7c3aef3f4a8?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"bpfadmin"},"url":"https:\/\/www.bpfonline.co.uk\/blog\/author\/bpfadmin\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bpfonline.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2885","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bpfonline.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bpfonline.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bpfonline.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bpfonline.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2885"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.bpfonline.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2885\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2886,"href":"https:\/\/www.bpfonline.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2885\/revisions\/2886"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bpfonline.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1523"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bpfonline.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2885"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bpfonline.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2885"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bpfonline.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2885"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}