OHS in Furniture Delivery and In-Home Assembly

Furniture assembly team safety: the risk changes once you leave the factory

When people think of safety in a furniture business, panel sizing, circular saws and dust extraction come to mind first. Yet the delivery and assembly team spends most of its day outside the factory: on the truck bed, on narrow apartment stairs, in buildings without lifts and in the customer's home. Furniture assembly team safety therefore does not fit into a workshop checklist; it needs a separate risk assessment and separate instructions.

Furniture produced around the İnegöl Furniture and Woodworking Specialised OIZ (organised industrial zone) and İnegöl OSB is often transported to other districts and provinces for delivery and assembly; the same team may do long-distance driving, heavy carrying and assembly on the same day. This article describes the four main risks of delivery and assembly teams and practical on-site measures for each. For the workshop side, see our article on the OHS checklist for furniture workshops.

First, the legal framework: the work the assembly team does in the customer's home is part of the work carried out by the employer. The obligation to take measures and carry out a risk assessment under Art. 4 of Law No. 6331 on Occupational Health and Safety covers this work too; an accident during assembly or on the delivery route is also notified as a workplace accident. We explained which situations count as workplace accidents in our article on situations that count as workplace accidents.

Truck loading and working on the truck bed

The truck bed is where the delivery team falls most often. Walking backwards towards the edge of the bed, jumping from the bed to the ground and slipping on a wet tarpaulin are typical causes of fractures and head injuries. Measures:

Three points of contact when getting on and off the bed: Steps and handholds are used; no one jumps from the bed.
No walking backwards on the bed: If someone approaches the edge while pulling a load, they change direction and the edge is watched by another person.
Ramp and loading platform: At the factory, loading is done from a ramp; the gap between the ramp and the bed is closed with a bridge plate. For ramp safety, see our article on loading dock safety.
Loading in delivery order: The product to be delivered first is loaded nearest the door. This way the team does not have to move loads around on the bed at every stop.
Securing: Wardrobe carcasses, products with marble or glass tops, and boxes are tied down so that they do not topple on the road. A check is also made at the last stop so that no load falls on anyone when the doors are opened. For the rules, see our article on load securing in lorries and trucks.
Hydraulic tail lift: Only the load and, if necessary, one person stand on the lift platform; feet are kept inside the edge of the platform, and no one goes underneath the platform while it is being lowered.

Drivers' driving and rest times are planned separately even if the team takes part in the assembly work. On long delivery days, assembly hours overlapping with driving hours set the stage for fatigue-related accidents; for this topic, see our article on OHS for company drivers.

Furniture moving: rules for carrying loads on stairs

Carrying a wardrobe carcass up three flights of stairs in a building without a lift is the team's heaviest job. Besides back injuries, there is a risk of falling on the stairs and being trapped under the load. The Regulation on Manual Handling requires the employer to reduce manual handling as far as possible with mechanical aids and, where it cannot be reduced, to take measures according to the weight and shape of the load and the working environment. For the assembly team, this means the following:

Survey: Before delivery, information on the floor, lift dimensions, stair width and landing at the turn is obtained from the customer; for large products, carrying them disassembled is planned if necessary.
Two-person rule: Heavy or bulky parts are not given to one person to carry. The two people carrying are chosen to be as close as possible in height and strength.
Position on the stairs: When the load is carried upstairs, the person below takes most of the weight; this is the most experienced person. One person gives the movement commands.
Carrying straps and hand trucks: Shoulder carrying straps and stair-climbing hand trucks transfer the load to the legs and wheels instead of the back.
Visibility: If the person carrying cannot see in front of their feet, someone in front guides them. Obstacles on the stairs such as shoes, rugs and plant pots are removed in advance.
Lift: The car's load limit is not exceeded; if there is no goods lift, the product is taken apart and carried in pieces.

Load	Recommended method	Watch out for
Wardrobe carcass	Disassembled, two people, carrying strap	Getting trapped against the wall at stair turns
Sofa set	Two people, with packaging left on	Slippery packaging, grip points
Marble or glass top	Upright, two people, edge protectors	Breakage and cuts, cut-resistant gloves
Mattress and bed base	Two people, from the sides	Being caught by the wind
Small boxes	One person, at chest height	Not stacking so high that vision is blocked

For correct lifting technique, see our article on manual handling and lifting technique. If items are carried through a balcony or window with an external furniture lift, this equipment is lifting equipment: it is set up according to the manufacturer's instructions, and under item 3.1.3 of Annex II of the Regulation on Work Equipment no one may be under the suspended load.

Assembly in the customer's home and use of power tools

Unlike the factory, assembly in a customer's home takes place in an unknown environment: the condition of the electrical installation, the structure of the wall and the people present all vary.

Prefer cordless tools. Rechargeable drills and screwdrivers reduce dependence on the customer's sockets and extension cables.
If an extension cable is used: The cable must be undamaged, a cable reel must be fully unwound, and the cable must not be run through door gaps or over wet floors. It is good practice for the team to carry a portable residual current protection adaptor in the vehicle.
Check for services before drilling. There may be electricity, water or natural gas lines in the wall. Avoid vertical and horizontal runs in line with sockets, switches and fittings, ask the customer where the services are, and use a detector if available.
Fixing to the wall: Wall cabinets and tall cabinets are fixed with plugs and screws suited to the wall's structure. Anti-tip devices are fitted according to the manufacturer's instructions; this is for the safety of both the fitter and children in the home.
Cutting tools: A safety utility knife and cut-resistant gloves are used when opening packaging. For glove selection, see our article on choosing work gloves.
Assembly at height: No one stands on chairs or tables to fit top cabinets and curtain rails; a sturdy portable ladder is used. For the rules, see our article on portable ladder safety.
Dust and shavings: A drill with extraction or a dust collection attachment is used to prevent drilling and cutting dust spreading in the home; the team keeps dust masks in the vehicle.
Not leaving tools around: If there are children or pets in the home, drill bits, screws and utility knives are not left out.

Lone working and risks in the customer's home

Small deliveries and service jobs are often given to one person. A fitter working alone may be unable to call for help if injured or taken ill; they are also on their own in a dispute with a customer. Measures:

Put in writing which jobs are not given to one person. Heavy carrying, carrying loads on stairs, assembly at height and work close to electrical installations are done by at least two people.
Arrival and departure check-ins. The team sends a short message to base on arrival at and departure from each address; if no message arrives within the planned time, base calls.
First aid kit and contact list in the vehicle. Contents are determined by the team's work: supplies for cuts, crush injuries and dust in the eye. For kit contents, see our article on first aid cabinet supplies.
The right to withdraw when tension arises with a customer. If there is a risk of verbal or physical assault, the team leaves and informs base; this behaviour should be written into the instructions. For this topic, see our article on violence against workers.

Risk assessment and training

Delivery and assembly work should appear as a separate section in the furniture business's risk assessment. Art. 8 of the Risk Assessment Regulation requires all activities carried out at the workplace, working methods, teamwork and hazards that may arise from people who are not employees of the workplace to be taken into account when identifying hazards. The customer's home, the apartment stairs and the delivery route are a natural part of this assessment.

Furniture manufacturing (NACE 31.00.01) is in the hazardous class. In this class basic training is at least 12 class hours, and the topic of risks specific to the job and workplace is delivered face to face. For the assembly team, the content of this topic should differ from that for workshop workers: working on the truck bed, carrying on stairs, drilling walls, cordless tools and customer relations. A video of a real delivery or a site observation carried out with the team is more effective in training than classroom explanation.

In furniture businesses in Bursa and neighbouring provinces, especially in the İnegöl area, we add delivery and assembly teams as a separate section to the risk assessment, and prepare team instructions and training content as part of our OHS specialist service. Other sector-specific topics are on our furniture page; you can see your specialist and physician hours with our OHS obligation calculator tool.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is an accident during assembly in a customer's home a workplace accident?

Yes. Assembly is part of the work carried out by the employer; an accident in the customer's home or on the delivery route is treated as a workplace accident and notified to the SGK within 3 working days of the accident.

How many people should work on furniture moving?

The legislation does not give a fixed number. Writing a rule of a team of at least two people into the instructions for heavy or bulky parts, carrying on stairs and assembly at height is the conclusion risk assessments most often reach.

What should be done to prevent falls from the truck bed?

Three points of contact are maintained with steps and handholds when getting on and off the bed, no one jumps from the bed or walks backwards towards its edge, and products are loaded in delivery order to avoid unnecessary moving of loads on the bed.

What PPE should be given to the assembly team?

Safety shoes with toe protection, gloves chosen for the task (cut-resistant for glass and marble), safety goggles and a dust mask for drilling and cutting are the basic equipment. The list is completed according to the team's risk assessment.