Absence of suitable scales

[tiredworker]

Hi, im new here and put post on union room forum. Its a h & S issue so im gonna post it here too.
Basically Im part time delivery ( back on delivery after 5 yrs mail centre).
My walk is prepped and put in grey sacks by my manager and I pick the bags up on a york from the do. One bag felt bit heavy so I thought id weigh it more outta curiosity than anything else. Anywau I normally use the walk on scales with bag on york, but when I went to both scale areas they had gone to make way for new walksortin area. I asked a senior memb of staff where are scakes and he pointed to ones on wall about shoulder height. Its a hook to hook on pouch bag. I didnt know that it was unsuitable for a grey bag. Anyway I carefully lifted bag off floor to the hook, but the hook was very big and I struggled to get the bag loops over hook to suspend it to weigh it. In this process I hurt my back. Not a slipped disc, but strained it, enough to go off sick and be in quite a lot of oain. The grey sac was 17kg (overweight) but regardless of weight id have struggled withany weight because the scales arent fit for that purpose, I didnt know that, and they were the only ines on the floor.
Anyway I filled in accident form (farce-the manager didnt understand all of it, and neither did I) and like a prat I signed it, but only a bit printed out that I signed.
On the form I stated id had manual liftin course in past 3 yrs (in retrospect it was more like 4/5yrs), it also said id followed safe methods of handling.
My grief is that the scales had been removed and not replaced. On the delivery floor we have trollies, yorks and grey sack and no way to safely weigh them.
There are one set of walk on scales on the lower floor (dock) which I knew nothing about as they are hidden under a york 'storage' area, ie they are covered and surrounded by yorks.
I know I was stupid to weigh the bags on the hook scale, but I didnt know at the time, and id never have done it if alternative scales were available.
We have not started park n loop but quite a few people use them and obv we all use yorks.
Does the business have a responsibility to provide us with scales to weigh sacks, yorks and trollies on the do floor?

[Lounge Lizard]

We had wall mounted hook scales but they've disappeared.

[POSTMAN]

Does the business have a responsibility to provide us with scales to weigh sacks, yorks and trollies on the do floor?

100% Yes!

[Cheetah]

Come on guys your a bit slow on this one.......
If the office management followed RM's very clear policy on bag weights, then how could individuals get away with taking overweight bags out
They are 100% aware if they implemented and checked bag weights in our office it would mean taking on at least 1 full time conveyance driver and many more bag drops would need to be procured by management, that would not do, now would it
Turn a blind eye and cock a deaf un, best management policy

[Himaggen]

Does the business have a responsibility to provide us with scales to weigh sacks, yorks and trollies on the do floor?

No!

The business does have a responsibility to provide its employees with a safe working environment.

The decision to remove equipment originally deemed necessary for your health and safety must have been accompanied by a risk assessment which outlines the steps now necessary to fulfil that requirement. If the scales were no longer 'necessary' then a new SSOW must have been produced which outlines the steps necessary to minimise the risks now associated with the change in working practices.

Any change in working practice and new SSOWs must be accompanied by appropriate training

If there is no new Risk Assessment, no updated or amended SSOW or you have not received that training then your Employer is negligent.

[fishtank]

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· The Delivery Office Manager will ensure that weighing facilities are maintained at the Delivery Unit, so that delivery staff can check the weight of their pouches where they have any concerns.

[Himaggen]

· The Delivery Office Manager will ensure that weighing facilities are maintained at the Delivery Unit, so that delivery staff can check the weight of their pouches where they have any concerns.

there are scales available for checking the weight of pouches.

Its a hook to hook on pouch bag

There are also 'walk on' scales!

There are one set of walk on scales on the lower floor

I would suggest that weighing scales are available, whether or not they are readily available, (or calibrated/maintained), I could not say.

The real issue is that either grey sacks are being used without a method to ensure they are within a safe weight limit for the carrier; or that controls necessary in ensuring that they are used safely are either not in place or have not been passed on through adequate training.

[fishtank]

If the scales are not fit for purpose,covered by yorks or on an entirely different floor i think you could argue that they manager is not providing or maintaining suitable weighing facilities.
I would as an H&S rep be taking photographic evidence of the particular areas.

[Lounge Lizard]

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[tiredworker]

Himmagen, yes there are walk ons on the lower floor. I didnt know they exist cause there are loads of yorks in the area.
The 2 sets on the do floor had been removed without putting any alternative.
I found out about the lower floor ones after erica report when manager showed me them.
Thanks everyone for the advice.

[Himaggen]

As I suspected, (the Manager is stating that they have fulfilled their requirement to provide weighing facilities)!

The Area Safety Representative will do all of the work, all you have to do is answer all the ASRs questions as honestly as possible and concentrate on full recuperation.

Your error was to have lifted a bag of questionable weight onto equipment not designed/suitable for weighing it. Your employer will need to show that there were reasonable controls in place to have adequately minimised the possibility of you from doing so. They should be able to demonstrate that they have assessed the risk, provided a safe system of work and trained you in the use of that system. If the paperwork is in place for the above and the controls highlighted within them were in place on the day, then you may be considered blameworthy.

Even if you were found blameworthy, unless you undertook the task in deliberate breach of those controls this accident on duty should not count towards a stage.