Team Lifting Toolbox Talk: Planning and Calling a Safe Team Lift

Two people lifting a heavy load can be safer than one, or more dangerous, depending on how well they work together. This team lifting toolbox talk is for crews who sometimes move loads too heavy, long or bulky for one person, such as panels, machinery parts, furniture or pipe. The crew will leave knowing when a team lift is right and how to call one.

Why do team lifts matter?

A team lift isn't simply one person's lift shared out. CCOHS warns that the combined strength of a team is less than the sum of individual strengths. It recommends team lifting only where other solutions aren't suitable.

CCOHS also gives the core rules:

• choose team members of similar height and strength,
• assign one leader,
• agree a set of commands such as "lift", "walk", "stop" and "down",
• practise together before attempting the task.

UK guidance treats team handling as higher risk too. HSE's manual handling brief guide says the simple weight filters don't apply to team handling, so it needs a more detailed assessment. Check what applies where you work.

Talking points for your team lifting toolbox talk

• Aid first, team second. Before calling for a second person, check whether a trolley, hoist, lift table or forklift could do the job. A team lift is for when equipment genuinely can't.
• Match your partners. Partners of similar height keep the load level. A big height gap puts most of the weight on the shorter person.
• One leader, one voice. Agree who calls the lift before anyone touches the load. Everyone else responds to that voice only.
• Agree the words. Use simple commands everyone understands, such as "ready", "lift", "walk", "stop" and "down". Run through them once out loud, especially with new or agency staff.
• Clear the whole route. Walk it first. Check doorways, corners and steps, and where each person will stand at the set-down point.
• Lift, move and lower together. Lift on the count, walk in step and lower on the count. Never let go or shift your grip without warning your partner.
• Long loads on the same shoulder. For pipe or timber carried on the shoulder, CCOHS advises using the same shoulder. That way, if the load falls, both people can step clear.

Example to share with the crew

Picture this: two fitters carry a long steel section down a corridor. Nobody agreed who was leading. The front person stops at a door to check it's clear while the back person keeps walking. The load jams into the front person's shoulder, and the back person twists to stop it.

A thirty-second huddle would have prevented it: "I'll lead, I'll call 'stop' before every door, we lower on 'down'." Coordination is the safety device in a team lift.

Team lift checklist

• A mechanical aid has been considered and ruled out for this load
• Partners are of similar height and strength where possible
• One leader has been agreed and everyone knows who it is
• Commands have been agreed out loud before the lift
• The full route and set-down point have been checked and cleared
• Everyone has a secure grip point and suitable gloves and footwear
• Long loads are carried on the same shoulder by both people

Questions to ask the crew

1. When did you last do a team lift, and how was it coordinated?
2. Which loads here do we regularly team lift that a piece of equipment could handle?
3. What commands do we use here, and does everyone, including new starters, know them?

If a team lift has become routine, it's worth a proper look using the manual handling risk assessment guide. The sibling talk on using lifting aids covers the alternatives.

How to close the talk

The lesson of this team lifting toolbox talk is that a good team lift is planned, led by one voice and done in step, and only after you've checked for equipment. If you're asked to team lift something that feels unsafe, stop and tell your supervisor or report it through the site's hazard process. Browse more safety topics for toolbox talks for the next session.