Module 6 of 88–10 minutes

Lifting, Carrying, Pushing and Pulling Loads

The core module — picking, palletising, unknown weights, team lifts, pallet jacks and roll cages, containers, van and tail-lift deliveries, rates, fatigue and cold rooms.

Last reviewed September 2026 · Part of Manual Handling Training for Warehouse and Logistics Workers

Key learning points

Pick safely from floor level and above shoulder height
Build and break down pallets using stable patterns with the heaviest items at waist height
Manage unknown and variable carton weights, bulky items and team lifts
Push and pull pallet jacks, roll cages and trolleys safely on floors, ramps and tail lifts
Unload containers and make van and kerbside deliveries with the risk controlled
Recognise how rates, shift work, fatigue and cold rooms change the risk, and use task order and micro-breaks

Picking and stacking

The zone between mid-thigh and elbow height is where lifting costs the least. Every pick that starts below your knees or above your shoulders adds a bend, a reach or both, and in a pick warehouse those picks are repeated hundreds of times a shift. Your slotting team should keep heavy and fast lines in that zone. Where they are not, how you approach the pick matters.

Picking from floor level and above shoulder height

Floor level: slide the carton to the pallet edge first, get your feet close, bend your hips and knees, and stand with the load close before you turn
Bottom layer of a full pallet: pick the nearest cartons first so you are not reaching across the pallet to the far corner
Above shoulder height: use a step platform or order-picking stool so the load is at chest height; pull it to the shelf edge, test it, then take it
Never pull a heavy carton down from above your head; if it is heavy and high, it is a forklift or step-platform job
Never climb racking or stand on a pallet on the forks — that is a fall hazard as well as a manual handling one
Position your trolley, cage or pallet jack so you turn with your feet, not your spine, between the pick face and the put-down

Palletising and stacking patterns

Build with the heaviest cartons on the bottom layers and the lightest on top — but pick from a leveller so the working height stays around waist level as the pallet grows
Interlock layers like brickwork so the stack is stable; column stacking is stronger for the cartons but topples more easily
Keep cartons inside the pallet footprint; overhang crushes edges and makes the load lean
Do not build above the height your site allows or above what you can place without reaching over your head
Wrap the pallet with the film tensioned and tied to the pallet base, or strap it, so it travels as one unit — this is a load restraint duty as well as a handling one
Break a pallet down from the top, one layer at a time; never pull a carton from the middle of a stack
Check inbound pallets for lean, crushed cartons and shifted loads before cutting the film — a shifted pallet can collapse when the wrap is released

Never trust an unlabelled carton

Identical cartons in the same line can differ by a factor of three when the contents change from foam to bottled liquid. Suppliers do not always label weights, and labels are often wrong for split cases. Tilt or slide every unfamiliar carton before you commit to it, and report unlabelled heavy lines so they can be flagged, labelled or re-slotted. A carton that surprises you has already been a near miss.

Bulky, awkward and two-person loads

Bulky items — whitegoods, mattresses, flat-packs, boxed televisions — block your view and force you to hold the load away from your body; use a trolley, stair climber or two people
Long lengths — timber, pipe, conduit, curtain rails — are a team carry or a trolley job regardless of weight
Bags and sacks shift in the middle of a lift; hug them high, or use a sack truck or vacuum lifter
Drums and kegs should be rolled on a drum trolley or moved with a drum lifter, never lifted by the rim
For a team lift, agree the leader, the words, the route and the put-down before touching the load, and lower together if either person calls stop
If your workplace sets a weight or size above which two people or an aid is required, that rule applies even when you are in a hurry

Pushing compared with pulling

Push wherever possible: Your body weight does the work, your spine stays upright and you can see where you are going
Pull only when you must: Pulling loads the shoulders and lower back, you walk backwards, and a cage or jack can run into your heels on a slope
Starting a load: Breaking a loaded pallet jack or cage loose takes the most force; lean in gradually rather than jerking, and check the wheels are not chocked or fouled
Stopping a load: A loaded roll cage or manual pallet jack has no brakes; leave stopping distance, slow down before doorways and never let it get ahead of you
Steering: Steer a manual pallet jack from the handle end with the forks trailing on the flat; keep your hands inside the handle and away from racking uprights
Two people on a heavy push: One steers and calls, one pushes; agree the words for stop and go before you start

Pallet jacks, roll cages and trolleys on the move

Check the load first — within the rated capacity, stable, wrapped or strapped, and not stacked higher than you can see over
Check the floor — spilt product, broken pallet timber, expansion joints, dock plates and lips all catch small wheels and produce sudden force
Ramps and slopes: stay on the uphill side of the load so it cannot roll onto you; do not take a heavy load on a manual pallet jack down a steep ramp — use a powered unit with a brake or ask for the forklift
Keep loads on roll cages within the marked line, doors clipped shut and the heaviest items low; a top-heavy cage tips on a kerb
Never ride a manual pallet jack, and never carry a person on any of this equipment
Park with the forks lowered and cages against a wall or in a bay, not across an aisle or on a slope
Keep your fingers clear of pinch points — the handle against the load, the cage door, the fork tips under the pallet

Unloading a shipping container by hand

Before opening, check the doors for bulging and open one door first from the side; loose-stacked loads shift in transit and cartons can fall out
Check inside for load shift, damaged cartons, pests and heat before anyone enters — in summer the air inside can exceed 50 °C, so plan water, shade and rotation
Bring a telescopic boom conveyor or extendable roller conveyor into the container so cartons travel out rather than being carried; extend it as you work back
Work from the top of the stack down and from the doors inward; never pull cartons from the bottom of a wall of freight
Rotate workers out of the container every 20–30 minutes in hot weather, and treat unloading as one of the highest-risk tasks on the site
Ask why the freight is loose-stacked; palletised inbound is a substitution control worth raising with the buyer or supplier

Van, tail-lift and kerbside deliveries

Load the van in reverse delivery order with heavy items low and close to the doors, and secure the load so it does not shift into the bulkhead or onto you when the doors open
Park level, on firm ground, with room to lower the tail lift fully; a lift on a camber tips cages
Stand clear of the platform edge, keep cages against the stops or the ramp raised, and never ride the tail lift unless it is designed and your procedure allows it
Use the hand trolley or sack truck for anything you would carry more than a few metres, and tilt the trolley back to you on stairs and kerbs, one step at a time
Pause before stairs, gravel drives and narrow doorways; if a customer premises is unsafe for the delivery, follow your procedure for leaving it at the door or arranging assistance
Working alone is the norm on a delivery run, which is why the two-person items must be identified at dispatch, not discovered on the kerb

Pick rates, piece rates and scan-rate pressure

Rates that reward speed reward shortcuts — snatching loads, skipping the step platform, leaving the conveyor parked, pulling cages instead of pushing them. Rates are a work organisation risk factor, and a business must set them so the work can be done without hazardous manual tasks. If hitting your rate requires skipping a control, that is a hazard to report, not a personal failure.

Shift work, fatigue, cold rooms and micro-breaks

Fatigue reduces grip strength, reaction time and judgement; the last two hours of a long shift are when snatched lifts happen, so slow down and use the aids more, not less
Cold rooms and freezers stiffen muscles, thick gloves reduce grip, and frost and condensation make cartons slippery; work in rotation, warm up on entry and do not lift heavy loads immediately after a long cold stint
Do not lift heavy items straight after a long drive or forklift stint; walk for a minute first to let your back recover from vibration and sitting
Order your tasks so heavy work is spread across the shift rather than bunched at the end or right after a break
Micro-breaks — thirty seconds to straighten up, change your grip or walk the aisle between pallets — reduce cumulative load more than one long break
Stay hydrated in hot weather and in containers; dehydration accelerates fatigue and cramp

Practical scenario

Scenario: the bottom-shelf surprise

You are picking a line you have not handled before from the bottom shelf of a flow rack. There is no weight on the carton. You reach in, grab it by the flaps and start to lift; it barely moves and one flap tears.

What should you do now, and what should change afterwards?

Reveal the explanation

Stop. Slide the carton to the front of the shelf rather than lifting it from where it is, get low with your feet close and test it. If it is heavy, get a second person or a trolley to the shelf. Afterwards, report it: an unlabelled heavy line at floor level with torn packaging is a hazard for everyone, and the reliable fix is to label it, re-slot it to waist height or have the supplier reduce the pack size. Do not simply remember it as one to be careful with.

Practical scenario

Scenario: the cage on the tail lift

You are delivering to a shop on a street with a steep camber. The only parking puts the van on the slope. You lower the tail lift with a loaded roll cage on it and, as the platform reaches the road, the cage starts to roll towards the low edge.

What went wrong, and what should you do?

Reveal the explanation

Do not try to catch a rolling cage — step aside and let it go if it is beyond the stop. Before lowering, the cage should have been against the raised stop or ramp, doors clipped, brakes on if fitted, and the van should have been parked as level as possible. The right response is to find level parking even if it means a longer walk with the trolley, follow your procedure for kerbside deliveries on slopes, and report the site so the delivery can be re-planned — a different time, a different door, or a two-person run.

Knowledge check

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

1. When building a pallet by hand, which practice is correct?

2. You must move a loaded roll cage 30 metres across a warehouse floor. Which is the safest approach?

3. You are about to take a heavy load on a manual pallet jack down a steep dock ramp. What is the correct action?

4. You are unloading a loose-stacked container on a hot afternoon. Which control should be in place?

5. Hitting your pick rate today would require skipping the step platform and pulling cartons down from above your head. What is the right response?