In The Business Of Moving Households: Constructing Methods And Devices That Work
One of the biggest problems with owning and operating a moving business is that large and particularly heavy objects are not easy to move. They can cause personal injuries to your movers and potentially damage other people's property. If you want to maintain good physical health for your employees and still move all the heavy objects homeowners expect you to move, there are a number of products on the market and devices which you can easily construct to aid your employees in their work.
The Forearm Lever-Sling
Based on ancient designs, these slings attach to the bottoms of a heavy object and then wrap around the forearms of your employees. Using the physics principle of leverage as it applies to the human forearm and its natural bend at the elbow, your employees can lift objects like china hutches and cabinets as though they were made of paper. The slings equally distribute the weight across the four arms of the two people who are lifting the item and cut the effort to lift that item through the leverage created in the bending of the forearm.
Furniture Slides
These very inexpensive pieces of plastic slide underneath the legs or resting feet of heavy objects. You can cover them with the included cloth pads to slide things across wood or linoleum, or leave them off to slide across carpet. You could also construct your own by using circles and ovals of wood, heavily shellacked with a very slippery type of shellac, and foam rubber attached to one side. The foam rubber sides rest under the heavy objects while the shellacked sides will help glide the objects across any floor.
Homemade Scooter Dollies
If you have the time or the skills, or you know somebody who does, these little devices are major back-savers in the residential moving business.
You will need:
- four heavy duty rolling casters per dolly
- carpet scraps
- four pieces of hardwood, cut to the size you need
You can make these either rectangular or square, any width or length. The ends should all be glued and nailed or screwed together to form your dolly platform. You will have an open space in the middle, and that is fine for most of your purposes. Then attach your rolling casters to the four corners. Wrap carpet scraps around the four boards that create the frame to help protect the objects you are moving. Not only can you build and use as many of these as you need for moving household goods, but customers can purchase them for regular use in their homes.
Why You Would Want These Alternatives
Traditional furniture dollies, piano dollies and appliance dollies are not always convenient to use. Either the items they are intended for are too large or bulky to move or homeowners have placed these items in difficult to reach areas. You want to give your employees as many useful options as you can so they can be successful in their line of work, and in turn, your business can be successful too.