Moving and Deliveries: How to Navigate Stairs with Heavy Loads More Safely and E

Posted by Magliner on December 11th, 2018

Transporting heavy loads up or down stairs, whether for deliveries or when moving, is not only a hassle, it can prove painful and dangerous. Even when a load is successfully wrestled up or down stairs without any slips, falls, or a heavy object tumbling down a flight, the jarring bounce can do a number on anyone’s back. An injury for the average person moving furniture or appliances, jarred back or otherwise, means pain and missed work. For a delivery company, while injured delivery staff should obviously be avoided in general, it also means a loss of profit.

Fortunately, there are tools, like a stair climbing cart, for instance, that can decrease or even alleviate much of that risk and a good bit of future pain. The key is determining which equipment is going to work best for the job. Acquiring the right tools can save time, save work, save misery, and increase the efficiency of the job. It’s one of those situations in which investing in the right equipment will almost certainly pay for itself many times over.

Nailing the Logistics and Planning It Out

Planning a stair-strategy may seem like common sense, but it’s surprising how often a lack of planning results in injury. When attempting to tackle stairs with a heavy object, eyeballing it briefly before just going for it, or foregoing planning altogether, is not a great way to go.Do some actual reconnaissance: walk the route, do the necessary measuring, be sure you have the tools and everything else needed, and get the appropriate help before attempting to move anything heavy on stairs.

If there’s a cable in the route, a hitch in the carpet, or anything else in the way that could be a tripping hazard, that’s something you want to know about beforehand. Just like you don’t want to find out that the 280-pound dresser is too wide to fit through the doorway at the top of the stairs before it’s precariously balanced on top of the staircase with your friend or significant other standing behind it.

The Right Tools for the Job

Virtually any hand truck with the additional hardware engineered to make traversing stairs more easily is going to expedite the work. However, when the work being done is specialized enough, there’s equipment specially designed for that specific purpose. For instance, if you’re the owner of a furniture and appliance store that does deliveries, picking up an appliance hand truck (or a few) makes quite a bit of sense. Those are exactly what they sound like: Hand trucks engineered specifically for the transport of appliances and furniture.

Consider the secondary equipment that can improve the efficiency of moving weight up or down stairs as well. Be sure that there are straps accompanying the hand truck or hand cart being used to move the load. It doesn’t do much good to load a refrigerator on a hand truck if it can’t be secured to it. Wrapping furniture or other heavy loads in blankets before strapping them down can help protect the load and the walls, doorways, molding, and anything else that the load could bump into. If you’re moving a bed, a mattress sling does wonders for moving mattresses and box springs. And, if your back is prone to injury, or you prefer prevention to a cure, consider investing in a support belt.

About Magline

The brand “Magliner” is such a trusted name in the materials handling industry that for many it has become synonymous with hand trucks, hand carts, dollies, and other product-moving solutions. For over 70 years, Magline has been producing the sturdiest, toughest, most reliable loading and transport equipment, including their hand lift truck line. If a safe, durable suite of materials moving tools would contribute to the continued success and growth of your business, choose Magline.

Learn more about everything Magline has to offer at Magliner.com