Handle and store materials

1. Core 01 – Health, Safety and
Welfare in Construction and
Associated Industries
Handle and Store Materials

2. Tutor Copy

3. Personal Protective Equipment
The Personal Protective Equipment at Work Regulations
say that if there is a risk of injury, and the employer cannot
avoid the risk or manage it in any other way, then they
must give employees the appropriate personal protective
equipment (PPE).
Employers are NOT allowed to charge employees for PPE
or make them pay for it. Employees must use PPE properly
and report any defects to the employer.
HSE PPE information

4. Personal Protective Equipment
Employers must provide their work force with:
1. Protective footwear.
2. Safety helmets.
3. Eye protection.
4. Dust masks / respiratory equipment.
5. Ear protectors.
6. Industrial gloves.
7. High visibility clothing.
8. All weather clothing
9. Somewhere to store PPE.
10.Sun protection and barrier creams
Employers can’t charge you for this equipment but you MUST look
after it.
If you don’t, it is your responsibility to replace it.

5. Not using PPE could cause
• Dermatitis
• Skin Cancer
• Infections
• Eye damage
• Head injuries
• Cuts
• Leptospirosis (Weils Disease)
• Burns
• Hearing damage
• Respiratory failure
• Lung damage/disease
• Asbestosis
• Death

6. Personal Protective Equipment
Anti slip Steel toe capped boots.
These help to protect your feet from falling objects. Some
boots also have steel sole inserts for extra protection.

7. Personal Protective Equipment
Hard hat or helmet.
This will help protect your head from objects falling from
above.
It also protects your head when working in places with low
head room.

8. Personal Protective Equipment
Dust mask.
These disposable dust masks will help reduce the amount
of dust you breathe in. They will not protect you from
dangerous or poisonous gasses and fumes.

9. Respiratory protective
Equipment
These will protect you from dangerous fumes and gases.
Manufacturers instructions must be followed.

10. Personal Protective Equipment
Protective gloves.
These will protect your hands from cuts and abrasions
when moving materials. Gauntlet gloves would offer better
protection against chemicals.

11. Personal Protective Equipment
Safety Glasses.
These safety glasses will offer protection against flying
particles/fragments when cutting bricks and blocks.

12. Personal Protective Equipment
Ear defenders.
These will protect your ears from loud noise. If you did not
use ear defenders when working with loud machinery you
could become permanently deaf.

13. Personal Protective Equipment
High visibility vests/clothing.
These help other people to see you on site. They have
reflective panels and are brightly coloured.

14. Personal Protective Equipment
All weather clothing.
You may sometimes have to work out side when the
weather is poor. In these cases your employer must also
provide you with waterproof clothing.

15. Sun protection should be used on site. You are not allowed
you to remove your shirt. This is because you need to wear
Hi visibility equipment and also the risk of sun damage to
your exposed skin.
Personal Protective Equipment
Barrier creams protect your
hands before you start work.

16. Lifting Aids
Many injuries on site are caused by poor manual handling
techniques.
Equipment is available to help with moving materials about
site.
The Health and Safety Executive has good advice
regarding manual handling health and safety.
HSE guide to lifting

17. Lifting Aids
• Wheel barrow - Used to move materials that
are loose, bulky or bagged.

18. Sack barrow - Used to move items such as bricks,
blocks or bagged materials
Lifting Aids

19. Brick/block grabs – These are used to make
moving bricks and blocks easier
Lifting Aids

20. Lifting Aids
• Board and panel trolley – for moving sheet
materials such as timber or glass.

21. Lifting Aids
• Larger sites may use all terrain pallet trucks or
forklift trucks

22. Lifting Aids
• Delivery trucks usually have cranes to make
unloading easier.
• These help to reduce manual handling.

23. Manual Handling
Employers must reduce manual handling risks.
It might be a one off lift that causes injury

24. Manual Handling continued
Employers must reduce manual handling risks.
It might be lifting lighter loads more frequently that
causes injuries

25. Manual Handling continued
• Safe working loads can change according to
how often the load is being lifted.
• Employers will make sure that you are
working in the safest way possible.

26. Injuries can be minimized by using the
Kinetic lifting method
To avoid injury the following principles
should be followed when lifting:
Crouch down in front of the
object with feet apart and one foot
alongside the object in front of the
other.
Manual Handling continued

27. Injuries can be minimized by using the
Kinetic lifting method
• To avoid injury the following principles should
be followed when lifting:
• Keep the back naturally straight
at all times. When
you lift, let the
leg muscles do all the work.
Manual Handling continued

28. Injuries can be minimized by using the
Kinetic lifting method
• To avoid injury the following principles
should be followed when lifting:
• Push off with rear foot and
move off in the
direction you wish
to go, in one smooth
movement.
Manual Handling continued

29. Manual Handling continued
• Team Lifting.
• If you think the load is too heavy to lift alone you
could use team lifting.
• Team lifting is when you ask another person to
help you lift the load.
• Someone will need to be in charge of instructions
to avoid confusion.

30. Manual Handling continued
• When manual handling materials, it is important to
have a clear route of travel.
• Make sure the route is clear before you pick up the
load.
• This will help prevent Trips, Slips and Falls

31. Storage of Materials
Construction materials have to be readily available
when the builders need them.
Rather than ordering them on the day they are
required, companies will plan when they will need
them.
Once ordered, materials will be delivered and
stored for a short period of time.
Storing materials on site can cause problems.

32. • Many materials used in construction are
expensive.
• Site compounds are used for storing large
building materials.
• These compounds prevent theft and help
contain materials in a secure place.
• These compounds can also be protected by
security people and CCTV.
Theft

33. Theft
Metal storage containers are used for storing
smaller building materials.
These containers are lockable

34. Deterioration
• Some materials used in construction will have
dates on them.
– Plaster
– Cement
– Paint
– Adhesive
• The oldest date will need to be used first to
prevent deterioration, this is called
Stock rotation

35. Deterioration
• Stock rotation will help to prevent these materials
evaporating and hardening over a period of time.
• To make sure materials don’t get wasted:
• Store the materials so the oldest date has to be
used first (to the front or top of a pile)
• This way, you will not have to spend time
checking dates when you come to use them

36. Deterioration
Deterioration of building materials and components
can also be caused by the weather.
This is known as deterioration from the elements
The elements are:
– Rain
– Frost
– Wind
– Sun

37. Deterioration from rain could cause the following:
•Timber could warp, swell and split.
•Bagged materials such as tile adhesive, plaster and
cement could react and harden before use.
•Blocks and bricks will become wet and heavy making them
harder to lay.
•Plasterboard will soften and crumble.
•Interior fittings could become water damaged.
Rain

38. Frost
Deterioration from frost could cause the following:
•Aggregates, bricks and blocks will freeze preventing the
chemical reaction of the cement by the water.
•If moisture absorbed into materials freezes, it will expand.
This can damage surfaces of materials.
•Frost will eventually thaw and create moisture affecting
materials in the same way as the rain.

39. Wind
Wind could cause the following:
•Light materials such as Insulation can get blown about site.
This can be dangerous and expensive.
•Sheet materials such as glass and timber could get blown
over and damaged.
•Materials such as drainage pipes or blocks stacked too
high/incorrectly can be affected by the wind.
•Pipes will need chockes or bands around them to prevent
them rolling.
•Wind is dangerous when working at height.

40. Sunlight
The sun could cause the following:
• Painted surfaces and specialist wall papers can
be affected by the sun. It can cause them to
fade.
• The sun produces heat which can be dangerous
for flammable materials such as adhesives,
paints and fuels.

41. Protection
• Storing Materials Outside
• To prevent damage from
the weather Construction
materials should be
covered with waterproof
sheeting.
• It is also wise to store
them off the ground on a
pallet.
• This will give the materials
a secure flat base, keep
them clean and prevent
them from soaking up any
moisture.

42. Protection
Materials should be
stored using the correct
method.
Length material should
be stored with plenty of
support.
These supports could be
old pieces of timber
approx. 1 metre apart.
These supports are
called bearers.

43. Protection
Pipes should be stored using the correct method.
These require plenty of support and once straps/bands around the
pipes have been cut specially cut wedges of timber must be used to
prevent rolling.
These are called chockes.

44. Protection
• Flammable materials
must be stored away from
direct sunlight in lockable
metal cabinets.
• Warning notices should
also be used to notify
people of the dangers of
what is inside.

45. Damage
Things to remember when storing building
materials:
•Correctly cover the materials to protect them from
the elements
•Store off the ground and support long lengths
using bearers
•Use methods of preventing unauthorised entry
into storage areas to help prevent accidents, theft
and vandalism

46. Damage
• Preventing people and machines from entering
areas where materials are stored will reduce the
risk of damage.
• Damage to materials can cost money.
• Damage can also hold up the project, re-
ordering damaged materials may take time.
• Some materials are fragile and will need extra
care.

47. Manufacturers Instructions
If you are unsure
how to store
materials, read the
manufacturers
guidance/instructions
on the product label.

48. Waste
Some construction materials will come pre-wrapped in
plastic.
Smaller items may be delivered loose or wrapped in
manufacturers packaging.
Once used this packaging will need to be disposed of
correctly.
Most sites use separate skips to make recycling easier.
• Metal
• Plastic
• Timber
• And general waste

49. Separating waste is a good idea.
It helps you to recycle by preventing
contamination.
When waste is separated, clear labels must be
used.
This is called Segregation
Waste disposed of and not recycled or reused will
go to landfill.
Landfill is very bad for the environment.
Waste

50. Waste
• Some waste materials may even be used on the
site during construction.
• This will reduce the amount of waste needed to
be taken away in the skips.

51. Waste
Some materials can not be recycled, such as:
– Paint
– Bagged materials that have gone out of date and
hardened
These cant always be put into a general waste skip.
They may be hazardous to health.
These materials should be disposed of according to current
legislation or manufacturers instructions.

52. Waste
• Skips are usually placed in
the secure site compound.
• This means waste will need
to be moved (manually or
by machine) to this area.
• If the site is small and a
skip can be placed close by
waste chutes could be used
to minimise dangers from
manual handling.

53. Waste
Some construction contracts require waste
recycling and environmental proposal plans
before work can start.
The more environmentally friendly the
company, the more chance of gaining work!