Module 7 of 85–7 minutes

Equipment, Aids and Tools for Offices and General Workplaces

Trolleys, sack trucks, platform steps, sit-stand desks, monitor arms and chair dollies — what each is for, how to check it, and what to do when it is broken.

Last reviewed September 2026 · Part of Manual Handling Training for Office and General Workplace Staff

Key learning points

Recognise the manual handling equipment found in offices and general workplaces
Match the right equipment to the task
Perform simple pre-use checks
Know why chairs are never steps
Report broken or missing equipment to facilities

Common equipment

Document trolley: Two or three shelves, for archive boxes, paper and files. The single most useful item in an office; keep one on every floor
Platform trolley: Flat deck for cartons, small furniture and event gear; check the load rating on the label
Sack truck (hand truck): Upright, two-wheeled, for stacked cartons and heavy single items like water bottle cartons or a desktop tower; tilt back, do not lift
Step stool and platform steps: For anything above shoulder height. Platform steps with a handrail for regular storeroom use; a folding step stool at every stationery cupboard
Sit-stand desk: Electric or manual height adjustment to alternate posture; presets for sitting and standing height
Monitor arm and laptop stand: Put the screen at eye level and free the desk; essential for laptop users and for tall or short staff at fixed desks
Adjustable chair and footrest: Seat height, back height, tilt and armrests; a footrest when the desk is too high to lower
Compactus and shelving: Mobile shelving that closes aisles; store heavy items at waist height and keep a step in the room
Chair dolly and table trolley: For stacked chairs and folding tables at events; the alternative is many trips carrying awkward loads
Mail cage and parcel trolley: For mail runs and deliveries; check castors and brakes, and do not overfill above eye level

A chair is not a step

Swivel chairs, desk chairs and stacking chairs are among the most common causes of falls in offices. A chair on castors moves as you step onto it; a stacking chair tips. Use a step stool or platform steps. If there is no step in the room, that is a hazard to report, not a reason to climb on the chair.

Pre-use checks — thirty seconds

Trolleys and cages: castors turn freely, brakes hold, handle is secure, deck and shelves are not cracked, load rating is legible
Sack trucks: tyres inflated or solid and intact, toe plate not bent, handles firm
Steps: feet intact and non-slip, hinges and locks engage fully, platform not cracked, no wobble when opened on a flat floor
Sit-stand desks: moves smoothly through its full range, nothing trapped under or behind it, cables long enough at standing height
Chairs: gas lift holds height, castors match the floor type, backrest and armrests lock in position
Monitor arms: holds position without drifting, clamp is tight, rated for the monitor's weight
Compactus: aisle lock engages, shelving not overloaded or leaning, no items projecting into the aisle

Rules that apply to all equipment

Use the equipment provided rather than working around it — it is the control
Stay within the load rating marked on the equipment
Load trolleys so the heaviest items are on the lowest shelf and you can see over the top
Do not improvise — a chair for a step, a desk for a trolley, a pallet for a platform
Return equipment to where it lives so the next person can find it
If you have not been shown how to use something — a stair-climbing sack truck, a pallet jack at the loading dock — ask before using it
Tag out and report faulty equipment; do not leave it for the next person to discover

Reporting broken or missing equipment

In most offices, equipment problems go to facilities, property services or building management through a ticketing system or a shared inbox. Use it. A verbal mention to a colleague is not a report. Include what the item is, where it is, what is wrong and what task it stops you doing safely. If a trolley or step has simply vanished, that is worth a report too — the task it supported is now being done without it.

Practical scenario

Scenario: the wobbly trolley

The document trolley on your floor has a castor that locks up every few metres. Staff have learned to lift the back end over the sticky point. It has been like this for months.

What should happen?

Reveal the explanation

Report it to facilities and take it out of use if there is an alternative. Lifting the back of a loaded trolley is a high, sudden force applied in a bent posture, many times a day — the trolley has become the hazard it was meant to control. A replacement castor costs little and takes minutes to fit.

Practical scenario

Scenario: the missing step

You need a box of envelopes from the top shelf of the stationery cupboard. The folding step that used to live beside the cupboard is gone. A colleague suggests standing on the office chair, which everyone does.

What do you do?

Reveal the explanation

Not the chair. Find the step — it is often in another cupboard or a meeting room — or ask facilities for one. If the envelopes cannot wait, ask a taller colleague to reach them from the floor if they can do so without stretching, or use a different box. Then report the missing step, and suggest envelopes move to a lower shelf where they should have been anyway.

Knowledge check

These questions are for your own learning. They are not part of the final assessment.

1. You need an item from a shelf above head height and there is no step in the room. What should you do?

2. Which is an appropriate pre-use check for a document trolley?

3. A trolley castor sticks and staff have been lifting the loaded trolley over the sticky point for months. The correct action is to:

4. Which piece of equipment is designed to move a stack of chairs for an event?