Our in-built overhead lifting solutions are the most effective and safe way to lift and move people. We believe that installing safe lifting solutions is about more than just the installation — it’s about the design, education and an organisation’s ability to create a culture of safe lifting. If all these elements combine, then the lives of both residents and carers who use these solutions will be greatly enhanced.
We pulled aside one of our Overhead Lifting Specialists Steve Parry, for the inside scoop on what’s involved with an overhead lifting installation.
It takes a highly adaptable person that has great attention to detail to install these systems. When you’re working in residents’ homes and construction sites you need to be able to work and adapt to the environment. The attention to detail becomes essential early on as you need to deliver a quality install for both aesthetics, and most importantly, for the safety of those being lifted.
Our team will meet with the facility and work through the goals and outcomes they want to achieve with overhead lifting. From there they will do an initial measure, plan and quote. I jump in once the plan is confirmed and start preparing for the install which involves cutting the tracks to size.
Our scheduling needs to be quite fluid, as with any construction or renovation, dates can be juggled around.
When we arrive on-site, we report directly to the site foreman and they will take us through a Health and Safety briefing outlining the specific site procedures and requirements. Initially, we do a site visit when the framing is up, which allows us to do a more detailed measure to confirm locations of the studs, pipes, and electrics — basically check everything is where we think it is. Then we slot back into the puzzle for the full installation once the room is plastered and painted.
Safety is obviously essential for us, we spend plenty of time after an installation testing the physical, functional and safety of every system. Weight testing involves hanging a specialist weight device to 300kg for 20 minutes followed by standard testing for example back and forth, up and down until we are confident.
Our equipment specialists will come into the facility and run formal trainings with the care staff to ensure they are all competent and feel confident using the system. Our service team will then return each year to take care of the annual compliance checks and servicing.
Yes, we are in the field more than we are in the warehouse/office.
Being on the road away from family and friends most weeks can be a challenging part of the role, however, it’s awesome that we can bring overhead solutions to everyone — location is no barrier.
I have met a few carers who have back issues and the look on their faces when they see the overhead lifting installed is awesome. There is a real sense of pride knowing you’re helping make carers and residents lives easier.
Keeping the residents happy is key, so we will always ensure the timing is right for our visit. We also take photos of the layout of the room before we remove anything to get the installation done and then we take the extra care to put everything back where we found it. We want the resident’s environment left clean and arranged just as they like it.
I’m no interior designer but I’ve found the discrete and simple design of the tracking systems we use, fit seamlessly into both the modern and old facilities. We fit the system as high as possible to the ceiling to help achieve a sleek look.
Yes, the most recent one I can recall, we installed XY overhead lifting into 90 rooms. XY means the tracks allow you to access all areas of the room, so you get full room coverage.