Mover

What a mover does begins before anything is lifted. Furniture, machinery and household items are dismantled for transport, then packed and protected so that what is fragile stays intact. Everything is loaded into the lorry or van secured and correctly positioned, because a load that shifts damages itself. At the other end the mover unloads, reassembles or installs the items in their new place, and delivers furniture into the rooms where it is wanted. An inventory of tools and items is kept throughout, so that what went on the vehicle is what comes off it.

The job runs on communication: with the customer whose property it is, and with the rest of the crew, through the communication devices a moving team uses to coordinate a lift or a reverse.

Mover skills are more varied than they look. The work calls for using a traditional toolset for dismantling and reassembly, reading the pictograms that say which way up a crate goes and what must not be stacked, awareness of the hazards involved in loading dangerous goods, and the technique to move heavy objects without injuring yourself. Requirements for the post are set by the employer.