New Course: Materials Handling Safety

Every construction project runs on materials. Lumber, block, conduit, racking, pallets of modules, cases of sealant: all of it gets lifted, moved, stacked, stored, and eventually hauled away. That work happens so often on a jobsite that it’s easy to treat it as an afterthought, but that’s exactly where injuries can come from.

Materials handling incidents range from splinters, cuts, and scrapes to crushed fingers, hands, and feet. Some can even be fatal. Most are preventable when crews follow OSHA’s materials handling standards and build good habits around lifting, stacking, and equipment use.

That’s the focus of HeatSpring’s new course, Materials Handling Safety, taught by Jenny Conrardy. It’s a three-hour course built around OSHA’s construction standards for materials handling, storage, use, and disposal (29 CFR 1926 Subpart H), with practical guidance crews can bring straight to the site.

What the course covers

The core lesson module follows materials through their full life on a construction site, from the moment they arrive to the moment the waste leaves. Students work through:

• Subpart H fundamentals: the core hazards of materials handling and how OSHA’s standards are structured
• Manual lifting and ergonomics: safe lifting technique and how to reduce strain and work-related musculoskeletal disorders
• Storage and stacking: rules for safely storing and stacking common construction materials
• Mechanical handling and rigging: hazards that come with powered equipment, slings, and rigging
• Hazard communication: how to read labels and safety data sheets for the chemicals on site
• Housekeeping and disposal: keeping the jobsite clear and handling debris and waste safely

By the end, students will be able to recognize the hazards tied to different materials handling tasks, use sound ergonomic practices to avoid injury, and operate materials handling equipment safely.

Hear from safety professionals in the field

The second module brings in two safety professionals who see materials handling from very different angles.

Josh Hooper is the EHS Specialist at Arch Electric. He spent 20 years in the Navy as a shipboard firefighter, where his job centered on spotting hazards and preventing casualties before they happened. He now brings that prevention-first approach to Arch’s solar crews.

Jacob Krigbaum owns Proven Solutions Corporation, a safety and compliance company serving construction, manufacturing, agriculture, maritime, and more than a dozen other industries. He holds over 96 safety-related certifications and shares where materials handling training and enforcement most often fall short across industries.

Together, they give students an inside look at how one company handles materials safety in the field, plus a wider view of the patterns that show up everywhere.

About the instructor

Jenny Conrardy is a Journeyman Electrician and NABCEP PV Installation Professional who has worked in the solar industry since 2019. She is also an adjunct instructor at Moraine Park Technical College, where she teaches first-year electrical apprentices. Jenny is a member of Solar for Women and WRISE and an advocate for equity in the trades.

Who should take it

The course is written for anyone who moves, stores, or works around materials on a construction site: new apprentices, experienced installers and electricians, crew leads, and the safety and operations staff who train them. Companies can also use it to give new hires a consistent foundation in materials handling before they get started onsite.

Get it with HeatSpring Pro

Materials Handling Safety is included with HeatSpring Pro, along with 26 more courses in the Pro library. One subscription opens up the full Pro library, so you’re not buying training one course at a time.

Pro also unlocks badges that bundle related courses into a clear learning path. This course is part of the Safety Pro badge, four safety courses worth more than $500 on their own, all included with your subscription.

Here’s what you get with Pro:

• This course plus 26 more from the Pro library
• Pro badges, including Safety Pro
• A certificate of completion for every course you finish
• Any courses you’ve purchased stay yours and never expire

Pro is $89 per month, or $890 per year when you pay annually, which works out to two months free. You can cancel anytime.

Enroll today

Safe materials handling comes down to habits: how a crew lifts, where it stacks, and how it keeps walkways clear. Build those habits before the next delivery shows up.

Enroll in Materials Handling Safety or explore HeatSpring Pro to unlock this course and the rest of the Safety Pro badge.