How to Prevent Injuries When Lifting Stone Slabs

When it comes to the stone and fabrication industry, safety is just as crucial as efficiency, especially when it comes to handling the tools and materials. In fact, statistics show that there is a 1 in 2 chance that a shop worker will experience some type of injury related to stone slab-handling within about 5 years. These injuries could be a result as drastic as a slab falling to something as simple as bad lifting. But how do you prevent these injuries? And how do you practice safe handling with stone materials?

Common Injuries

Handling heavy fabrication materials like granite or stone slabs, can open the door to all kinds of safety risks—to yourself and others. Without the right techniques, equipment, and help, a single stone slab could cause a multitude of injuries. It’s important to know these injuries and where they are more likely to occur in order to prevent them from happening in the first place.

Common injuries can be as simple as needing only a stop to a first aid kit, or as severe as requiring a hospital visit: 

• Musculoskeletal injuries can include strains, sprains, neck, shoulder, or back injuries. These usually occur from frequent or improper manual lifting.

• Cuts and lacerations can be caused from sharp edges of stone slabs or even chipped off fragments of materials.

• Trips, and falls may not seem like a major issue, but they are one of the most common workplace injuries. Although there can be other factors to a fall, not having a clear workspace or improper storage are some of the main causes.

• Crushing is one of the most dangerous of injuries. A falling or shifting slab as a result of poor storage or bad lifting can result in serious damage that could even be fatal.

There are overall many different types of injuries from stone or other material handling, and it’s crucial to address them whenever they do occur. Although certain workplace habits like keeping house or proper storage can reduce the risk, one of the best ways to prevent injuries is with proper handling techniques and equipment.

Best Safety Practices

Lifting Techniques

Practicing safe lifting techniques is one of the best ways to prevent injuries in stone handling. To lift heavy materials like stone slabs, there are some good guidelines to follow. Important steps include keeping the load close to your body (around waist height), maintaining a straight back, using your legs for lifting power, keeping a wide stance, and bending at the hips and knees (not the waist). 

Teamwork

But stone handling requires taking it a step further than just safe lifting practices. Another key aspect of safe stone handling is ensuring that you have a team to help you. For stone slabs, unless it’s materials like small tiles, lifting them alone isn’t an option. Making sure you have a capable team is an essential step of preventing injuries and material damages. 

Having the Right Equipment

Having the right stone handling equipment is one of the most crucial steps to safe stone handling. Even with the proper lifting techniques, or a team to help you, if you don’t have the right equipment, safely lifting stone slabs is nearly impossible. So having the right stone lifting equipment may even be the most important step to stone handling safety.

So what equipment is the right equipment? For stone handling, it’s crucial to have a secure grip on the material, and maintaining a stable hold throughout the process: vacuum lifts, suction cups, and transport carts or dollies are just a few examples of the proper tools needed. Without the proper tools, a stone slab could slip and cause injury to yourself or your team. Not using the right tools could also damage the stone.

Stone Handling Equipment That Reduces Strain

It’s important to make sure that whatever stone handling equipment you choose is high quality, well-built, and suitable for the task at hand.

Slab Clamps & Vacuum Cups

Having the right clamps can be the difference between a job well-done and a major setback. It’s crucial to make sure that the slab clamps or other lifting devices are designed to maintain a grip on even slippery slabs, as well as hold the weight throughout. 

A good example of tools designed for the task, would be our Stealth Grip™ vacuum cups, designed for providing a convenient and secure hold. Another example is the Aqua-Jaw™ Carry Vise™, which is well suited for handling slippery wet surfaces as well as heavier materials.

Transport Dollies and Carts

Lifting can only go so far—literally. When it comes to transporting stone over longer distances, the best way to safely handle stone slabs is by using a dolly or cart to transport it. 

There are many different carts and dollies to choose from, but just make sure that whatever cart you choose is suited for the size, shape, and weight of the slab you're handling. At Omni Cubed, we offer a variety of carts and dollies designed for stone slab transport, such as the Pro-Cart AT1 or AT2, the Pro-Dolly™ HD1, or the Pro-Lift Automatic.

Protecting the Stone

Lastly, it’s also important to ensure your stone materials don’t get damaged in the process. Damaged materials can also cause injuries such as cuts. When it comes to protecting your stone, there are a few different tools you can use. There are basic tools like padding or cloths to prevent surface damage or chipping during transport. But protecting the stone’s structural integrity takes more heavy-duty equipment. Having reinforcement equipment is key for preventing stone damage, and also helping to prevent injuries from the result. At Omni Cubed, we provide reinforcement tools designed for the task, like the Sink Hole Saver™ or S3 | Slim Slab Saver™ for larger slabs.

Conclusion

Overall, safety is crucial for handling stone or any kind of material. In order to make sure that stone slabs get transported safely and efficiently, it’s essential to handle them properly. Following the best practices, lifting techniques, and having the proper equipment are all essential steps to properly handling stone slabs, preventing material damages, and especially for preventing injury to yourself or or your team.