If you don't want to purchase your safety equipment over the internet, why not visit SafetyLiftinGear in person? We have five locations throughout the UK (in Bridgwater, Bristol, Cardiff, Leeds and London), and no matter which of our trade counters you visit, you can count on a warm welcome and excellent service.

For example, we recently received some positive feedback from a gentleman named Terry. Here's what Terry, who works for a local scaffolding firm, had to say about his visit to our trade counter in Bristol:

"I would just like to say that your trade counter is looking better and better every time I come in. Also, the young chap who served me - his name was Lee - was really helpful; he provided a quick and friendly service, he was easy to talk to, and he listened well. He was also a funny young man!

"I am glad I shopped at SafetyLiftinGear and I will be recommending your business to others in the future. Thanks again, and see you soon."

We would like to thank Terry for his comments and for his continued custom. All of the products on our website are available to purchase or order from our trade counters - feel free to drop in whenever you need to!

Click here to see the addresses for each of our trade counters, or call SafetyLiftinGear on 0808 123 69 69 for more information.

(image via Flickr)

Musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) account for roughly one-third of all workplace injuries. Common MSDs include tendinitis, carpal tunnel syndrome, and lower back injuries.

Just because your job isn't based around manual labour doesn't necessarily mean that you won't be affected by musculoskeletal problems. In this blog post, the SafetyLiftinGear team will share some health and safety tips that should help you and your employees/colleagues to steer clear of musculoskeletal disorders in the workplace.

• Use ergonomic equipment. Perhaps the most common causes of workplace musculoskeletal disorders are poor posture and repetitive strain. Employers can address this by providing ergonomic equipment for their workers - you can get ergonomic chairs, keyboards, computer mice, and a variety of other items that are designed to prevent musculoskeletal disorders and related complaints.
  
  
• Lift heavy items properly. We recently published a safe lifting guide, which explains, step-by-step, how to lift heavy loads without injuring oneself. If you repeatedly lift heavy objects in a manner that puts strain on your body, it's likely you will end up with a workplace musculoskeletal disorder - so lift with care!
  
  
• Use the correct material handling equipment where necessary. Material handling injuries are very common across many different working environments. It's not always sensible to lift heavy objects using manpower alone - some loads should only be transported using a forklift, pallet truck, or similar.
  
  
• Carry out a workplace risk assessment. Conducting a thorough risk assessment is key to keeping the workplace safe for all who use it. Risk assessments should be carried out by trained health and safety personnel, and renewed whenever there is a significant change in the working environment.

By following these simple health and safety steps, you can drastically reduce your chances of a workplace musculoskeletal disorder. 

As we've discussed previously, working at heights can be very dangerous, and failure to observe the proper safety regulations can lead to dire consequences. Height safety guidelines are in place to keep you from falling and, if you do fall, to prevent you from being badly hurt; you may feel that you are careful or sure-footed enough not to need a safety harness, but one slip is all it takes and it's never worth taking that risk.

With all of this in mind, we at SafetyLiftinGear would like to draw your attention to the following Height Safety Checklist. These safety precautions are recommended by the HSE (Health and Safety Executive), so you can rest assured that they were thought up with worker safety in mind.

Before working at height, ask yourself the following questions:

• Have I been properly trained to carry out this job? Do I have the correct permit to work?
  
  
• Will the current weather conditions have any impact on my safety while working at height?
  
  
• Have I chosen the best means of reaching the heights necessary to complete this job? Could I use a cherry picker instead of a ladder?
  
  
• Is this ladder safe? Is it in good condition? Is it tied, footed, or otherwise secured at the base? Is it long enough* for the job?
  
  
• Will I have to walk on a roof or another raised surface? If so, is this surface at all fragile? Is there any risk of falling through?
  
  
• Will I be able to avoid stepping on roof lights? Are all roof lights clearly visible?
  
  
• Do I need crawling boards to safely bridge joists?
  
  
• If I fall, what will prevent me from hitting the ground? Am I wearing a safety harness, and is it properly secured?
  
  
• Is there any chance that I will drop something to the ground below? Could this cause any damage? Should I be wearing a tool lanyard?
  
  
• If a fall or accident should occur, do I have a suitable rescue plan in place?

*To ensure worker safety, ladders should reach at least 0.9m (35 and a half inches) beyond the stepping-off point.

Visit SafetyLiftinGear's Height Safety department to ensure that you have everything you need to safely work at height.

You might be surprised by the sheer variety of customers we cater to here at SafetyLiftinGear. Naturally, we take a lot of orders from the construction industry, but building sites are far from the only places where SLG products can be found!

Our heavy-duty garden carts are an excellent example of this. They are designed to carry heavy loads over uneven terrain, and while they obviously have their uses on construction sites (e.g. moving bricks, tools, and other equipment from A to B), these uses are just the tip of the iceberg. Here are three other places where our garden carts do their share of heavy lifting:

• Gardens and garden centres. As the name suggests, our garden carts are perfectly suited to garden work. Our dump cart is particularly handy for moving garden waste and compost around.
  
  
• Farms. We frequently supply garden carts to the agricultural sector - the long-handled design of our utility carts makes them far easier for farmers to use than traditional wheelbarrows (largely because you don't have to lift up our carts to move them around!)
  
  
• Music festivals. Our garden carts start to look a lot more trendy when you realise that they've been used to help some of the UK's biggest musical festivals to run smoothly! A lot of work goes on behind the scenes of your favourite festival, and SLG's LoadSurfer carts make it that much easier to move everything around.

Click here to see more of SafetyLiftinGear's garden carts.

There are numerous different ways to lift a heavy load, but chain slings tend to be the weapon of choice in high-temperature environments and other challenging conditions. Our lifting chains are extremely heavy-duty, and suitable for use in a variety of different environments, from construction sites to factories and warehouses.

There are lots of different products in SafetyLiftinGear's Chains & Rigging section - here's a quick guide to each of them:

• Chain Slings: These sturdy chains come with heavy-duty hooks for each attachment. Weight capacities for 1 leg slings range from 1.5 to 8 tonnes; however, we also sell...
  
  
• 2 Leg Chain Slings: These slings have two chains and two hooks. Our strongest 2 leg sling has a maximum weight capacity of just over 11 tonnes.
  
  
• 4 Leg Chain Slings: These premium chain slings have four hooks and are capable of lifting even heavier loads (max. capacities range from 3.15 tonnes to 17 tonnes).
  
  
• Wire Rope Slings: Made of galvanised wire rope, these cost-effective slings are a good choice for smaller loads (up to around 5,000kg).

We also sell a range of accessories to complement our lifting chains, including an assortment of hooks, eyebolts, plates, and more. Click here to see our full range, or call 0808 123 69 69 for further information.

Heavy lifting can be dangerous, frequently resulting in injuries and accidents when done improperly. Here, courtest of the experts at SafetyLiftinGear, are some tips to help you stay safe next time you're lifting heavy objects:

• Plan your actions. Don't jump head-first into lifting a heavy item - think about what you're doing first. What route are you planning to take? Would it be possible to push or slide the load instead of lifting it? Can you lift it alone without putting yourself in harm's way, or do you need to call for help?
  
  
• Bend your knees. When you bend down to pick up the object in question, make sure you bend at the knees instead of at the waist. This will put the weight on your legs, rather than putting your back at risk.
  
  
• Get a good grip. Before you rise to a standing position, ensure that you have a good hold on the load that will not slip as you move.
  
  
• Keep it close. Don't hold the load at arm's length; instead, hug it close to your body (especially as you rise from picking it up).
  
  
• Take it slowly. Never rush when lifting and moving a heavy load - that's how accidents happen!
  
  
• Don't twist your spine. Twisting your body while carrying a heavy item can do a lot of damage - ensure that you're facing in the same direction as your feet at all times.
  
  
• Put it down properly. Don't simply drop the load when you reach your destination - find a suitable space to deposit the item, then bend at the knee and place it down gently.

One final tip: know when you're beaten! Some loads are simply too heavy to be lifted by manpower alone, and in situations like these, you may need to use specialist lifting equipment (e.g. slings, hoists, chains) to get the job done. Don't try to show off by lifting something that could get you hurt!

First of all, let's clarify the difference between hydraulic jacks and other types of jack. You may well have a jack in the boot of your car, but this is probably a man-powered device, designed to lift your vehicle in the event of a breakdown or emergency.

Hydraulic jacks, on the other hand, tend to be found in more industrial environments, such as garages and workshops. These heavier-duty products, while still primarily used on cars and other vehicles, have a far wider range of uses than standard mechanical jacks - for example, hydraulic jacks are sometimes used to lift building foundations during construction projects.

But how do hydraulic jacks work?

Some of the hydraulic jacks that we sell here at SLG can lift loads of 30 tonnes or more - clearly, this kind of lifting power would be difficult to produce with sheer manpower!

So how do the jacks do it? There's a lot of complicated scientific theory behind hydraulics, but here's a simplified explanation:

• Inside the jack's hydraulic cylinder, powered pumps apply pressure to a reservoir of oil.
  
  
• Because liquids cannot be compressed, the oil is pushed through the cylinder and into a larger chamber.
  
  
• Thanks to Pascal's Law (we told you there was a lot of science behind this stuff!), the pressure in the wide chamber remains the same as it was in the narrow one. This pressure is what forces the jack - and, by extension, whatever you're using the jack to lift - upwards.

Does that make sense? This is an extreme simplification, of course, and different types of hydraulic jack (bottle jacks, cylinder jacks, etc.) work in slightly different ways. Still, this should give you a rough answer to your question!