Awkward Reaching Toolbox Talk: Cutting Overhead, Forward and Behind Reaches

One long reach doesn't hurt anyone. Three hundred of them a shift, to the same high shelf or the back of the same bin, is a different story. This awkward reaching toolbox talk is for crews at benches, lines, racks and machines. The goal is for everyone to spot their worst reach and know how to shorten it.

Why do awkward reaches matter?

Reaching moves the weight of your arm, plus anything in your hand, away from your body. Your shoulder and back muscles have to hold it there. CCOHS explains that holding arms raised or extended is static effort. It reduces blood flow and tires muscles much faster than movement does.

Guidance is consistent on where reaching should stop:

• CCOHS advises avoiding reaching behind the shoulder line, above the shoulder line, or beyond the point of comfort. Shift your feet to face the object instead.
• HSE recommends keeping repetitive reaching as close to the body as possible and always within 450 mm of the front of the operator.
• For storage, CCOHS suggests keeping heavy and frequently used items at waist height. Use elevating platforms to avoid overhead reaching.

Talking points for your awkward reaching toolbox talk

• Keep the busy items close. Anything you use every cycle belongs in the area you can reach with your elbows near your sides. Items you rarely use can sit further out.
• Mind the shoulder line. Repeated reaching above shoulder height loads small shoulder muscles fast. If you reach up many times an hour, the layout needs a look.
• Mind the knee line too. Reaching below the knees for bottom-shelf parts forces a stoop. Move frequent items up to a middle shelf.
• Move your feet, not just your arm. Turn and step to face the item rather than reaching across or behind your body while twisting.
• Get closer to high work. Use a step, platform or rolling stair rated for the job. Never use a chair, box or the bottom shelf of a rack.
• Remove what's in the way. Bin lips, guards, deep tables and clutter can force you to reach over obstacles. Ask whether they can be moved, cut down or tilted.
• Speak up about repeated stretching. You know your worst reach better than anyone. Suggest the fix; often it's a tilted bin or a moved shelf.

Example to share with the crew

For example, imagine a kitting station where the most-used screws sit in a bin at the far back of the bench, behind two rarely used part trays. Each kit needs four screws, so the operator reaches across the full bench depth hundreds of times a shift. By Thursday, his right shoulder aches.

Swapping the trays around costs nothing. A small angled bin at the front edge cuts the reach to a few centimetres. Five minutes of layout change removes most of the strain.

Awkward reaching checklist

• Items used every cycle are within easy forearm reach with elbows near the body
• Frequent reaches stay below shoulder height and above knee height
• Heavy and frequently used stock is stored around waist height
• Bins and trays are tilted or front-opening where workers reach into them
• Safe steps or platforms are available for high work and are actually used
• No one is reaching over guards, lips or clutter to get to parts
• There is enough floor space to step and turn instead of twisting

Questions to ask the crew

1. Where do you have to stretch or twist to reach something many times a shift?
2. Which shelf, bin or control would you move if you could, and where to?
3. When you need something up high, what do you stand on, and is it the right thing?

If you want to score a particular reach, the RULA calculator focuses on the arms, neck and wrists. For storage areas, the warehouse ergonomics guide has more layout ideas.

How to close the talk

The one-line summary of today's awkward reaching toolbox talk: every reach you shorten is strain you don't have to recover from. Pick your worst reach, tell your supervisor about it today, or log it through the site's hazard report so the layout can change. The full library has more safety topics for toolbox talks when you're ready for the next one.