Safety should be the first priority when performing lifting operations. An understanding of the capabilities and limitations of the equipment will support this. The safety policy “lf It‘s Not Safe, Don‘t Do It” is important not only for your safety, but the safety of your coworkers. T

he material outlined in this manual outlines the requirements of the DOE Hoisting and Rigging program. It requires persons who perform rigging or operate hoisting equipment to be trained to ensure that the personnel are competent to perform the operation. The qualification is for a period the three years. The training requires a written exam and practical demonstration.

The requirements for operator training and qualification can be reviewed in the DOE Hoisting and Rigging Manual attached.

A very helpful guide to slinging and lifting and the appropriate signalling from the Health & Safety Hub where you also find many other useful information and documents.

Be a Planeteer: recycle - we do. Because “The power is yours” (Captain Planet and the Planeteers) Recycling - we all know we should do it. In fact, you probably recycle at home. But how about at work? We bet you’ve thrown more than one beautiful art case into the skip and wished you could do something with all that beautiful timber! ArtTechSpace sat down with Martinspeed Director Simon Sheffield and Recycling Manager Ian Rogers to talk about making sustainable choices and how they’ve been doing good for the planet and their local community.

Onion with Nikolas in the background If you work behind the scenes in the art and artefact world you’ll have seen the huge amount of waste we create. Most of it is packing and storage materials - in particular the shipping cases that keep art and artefacts safe. And because we care about the works inside, they’re nearly always…

Jane Thompson-Webb, Head of Conservation at Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery talks about Packing & Safe Movement of objects between sites.