Health, safety and wellbeing for Precast Concrete Makers: lifting, stripping and working at height
In a precast yard the biggest risks are heavy lifts and early stripping. Safety here means named people, written steps and a lift nobody is pressed to rush.
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Share your requirementsWhy health, safety and wellbeing matters in precast concrete makers
A precast element can weigh many tonnes, and it is lifted several times: out of the mould, to the stockyard, onto the trailer and into place on site. Without a clear rule on who may rig, who signals and who signs the strip, lifts happen on habit. A project date pushes the strip early, a helper steps under a load, or a sling is reused because it is nearby. Most of this looks fine until the day it does not.
Good practice is plain. A short list names who is authorised to rig and signal, and when each was last assessed. A strip and lift sheet is signed by a supervisor with the age of the concrete noted. Erection teams have a leader, a pre-start talk and a rule about who stays clear. Wellbeing matters too, because bar benders and shuttering hands work long, hot shifts and tired people make poor calls.
How to set it up
1. List who rigs and who signals
Write down every person who rigs, signals or drives the crane. Next to each name, note the last time you watched them do it. Anyone not on the list does not lift.
2. Create a strip and lift sheet
One page per element with the drawing revision, the date cast, the concrete age at strip and the supervisor's signature. The sheet travels with the piece to the stockyard.
3. Hold a pre-lift talk
Before any heavy lift the rigger states weight, lifting points and exclusion zone in plain words. Keep it to two minutes and have the crew repeat the zone.
4. Prepare erection teams
Name a leader for each site team, brief them on height work and give a short checklist for arrival and exit. See health, safety and wellbeing.
5. Look after the crew's rest and heat
Review break times, drinking water and shade near the casting bed. Ask crews which tasks leave them most tired and adjust the schedule where you can.
Check these first
Before changing anything, find out what is true today. These take an afternoon and use your own records.
- List who is authorised for rigging and crane signalling and when each was last assessed.
- Look at the last five strip and lift sheets and see who signed and at what age.
- Ask an erection team leader what the arrival checklist is on a new site.
- Count the near misses noted in the last quarter, or note that none are recorded.
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Questions owners ask
Only people you have watched and named. Signalling is a skill, and a casual helper waving at the driver is a risk. Keep a short list on the wall and update it when someone is assessed or leaves.
Make the sign-off a role, not a favour. The supervisor signs with the concrete age noted, and a project date does not change what the sheet says. Brief the planning staff so they understand the rule.
The leader walks the area, agrees the exclusion zone, checks anchor points and briefs the team on who signals. A short tick-box on a card is enough and gives you something to review later.