Safe Lift & Load: the full procedure

Move items from the property to the truck in the correct sequence using proper lifting and team-lift practices.

• Applies to: Crew lead, crew
• Frequency: Every job
• Scope: Sequences how a load moves from the property to the truck — staging, path protection, and load order. All lifting technique, team-lift, and ergonomic standards defer to OSHA guidance and your written safety plan; this SOP documents the workflow, not the safety standard.

What you need

• Furniture dolly
• Hand truck
• Moving straps/forearm forks
• Work gloves
• Furniture blankets
• Floor/door protection

The procedure, step by step

1. Plan the path — Identify the shortest clear route from item to truck; clear trip hazards and confirm door and stair clearances.
2. Protect the property — Lay down floor runners and pad door frames and corners to avoid damage during the carry.
3. Stage by load order — Stage items so the heaviest and largest load first and ride low; group donate/recycle items for separate handling.
4. Use the right equipment — Move heavy or bulky items with a dolly, straps, or hand truck rather than carrying by hand.
5. Call team lifts — For anything heavy, awkward, or over the crew's defined limit, use a team lift per the safety plan; lifting technique follows OSHA guidance.
6. Carry and load — Move items along the planned path and place them into the truck per the loading-and-securement SOP.
7. Re-check the property — As areas empty, verify no items, hardware, or debris were left behind or damaged.
8. Protect the load progressively — Distribute weight and prevent shifting as the truck fills, deferring securement details to the truck-loading SOP.

Quality check before you finish

• Carry path cleared of trip hazards before lifting begins
• Floors, doors, and corners protected
• Heavy items moved with equipment, not bare hands
• Team lifts called for heavy/awkward items per safety plan
• No property damage during the carry
• Donate/recycle items kept separate from landfill load
• Load weight distributed as the truck fills

This is a free, source-anchored standard operating procedure (SOP) you can print and hand to staff. It documents the work sequence for a Junk Removal business — not safety or regulatory rulings, which defer to the cited authorities, the applicable code, and your own health-and-safety plan. Open the tool above to print it, toggle ink-saver, or (with a free ToolFluency Business account) edit it to match your own workflow.

Sources

• OSHA — materials handling, lifting & ergonomics (osha.gov)
• NIOSH — lifting equation & manual handling (cdc.gov)
• FMCSA — cargo loading basics (fmcsa.dot.gov)