Working at Height in the Transport Sector
Every year, maintenance operations lead to serious injury and death in Northern Ireland. Here, we focus on the road haulage industry and more specifically work involved in maintaining vehicles.
Pit bridge with one hand rail removed to provide access to the rear of a bus. Extendible barriers provide a warning about the open area of the pit.
Many maintenance activities in this sector take place at height including working above uncovered vehicle inspection pits. Remember that just because the height is not excessive, often less than 2 metres, there is still the risk of serious personal injury. Even a relatively minor incident can have serious economic consequences for your business, in terms of lost time and compensation.
As a responsible employer it is your legal duty to ensure that adequate arrangements are in place for any work involving the risk of a fall from height. You must consider all your vehicle operations including cleaning, servicing and repairs. The fundamental requirements are:
Consider all the instances where work is or could be carried out at height.
Examine whether there is an alternative.
Evaluate the precautions that are in place for the work.
Take whatever further measures are necessary to keep the risk as low as reasonably practicable.
You cannot leave it to your vehicle mechanic or driver to make do as best they can when they need access for work at height.
If you are responsible for specifying vehicles then it is important that maintenance issues are considered at the outset. Insist on anti-slip materials on surfaces people will walk on. On articulated vehicles ask for the 5th wheel coupling hoses to be fitted on a sliding connector block to avoid the need to climb on the 5th wheel catwalk. Reduce the need to work at height by specifying controls for equipment such as refrigeration units, tail lifts and lorry cranes at ground level.
Remember that vehicle tail lifts and lorry mounted cranes as well as being maintained correctly are also subject to the thorough examination requirements of the Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations (LOLER).
HSE's website at http://www.hse.gov.uk/fallsfromvehicles/index.htm has further information including a case study that shows how significant work at height was avoided by a particular company by specifying that fridge units were fitted underneath the trailer body resulting also in reduced maintenance and operating costs.
Senior management up to and including board members need to take proactive action. Attitudes and behaviour to health and safety are determined by the bosses, not the organisation size. If you are a senior manager or director in a vehicle based organisation, how do you demonstrate commitment to health and safety? How confident are you that your workforce is complying with the arrangements put in place for their safety. When was the last time you had a walk around the vehicle workshops and engaged with the staff there? Directors and senior management in charge of companies cannot escape their legal obligations by arranging their organisation's business so as to leave them ignorant of what are found to be inadequate safety arrangements.
Maintenance is an essential part of keeping a lorry fleet on the road. Ensure that the cost of this maintenance does not include the costs, both human and financial, of accidents to those who carry it out.
For more information on safe maintenance in the workplace contact HSENI's Information and Advice Centre on Tel: 0800 0320 121, or by e-mail: mail@hseni.gov.uk. Information and advice relating to the campaign is also available at the dedicated campaign website www.hseni.gov.uk/safemaintenance
**You'll find a more comprehensive report on this subject in the January issue of Export & Freight.
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