BUSINESS HELPDESK HELP DESK
HOW SAFE IS YOUR YARD?
Pedestrians and moving vehicles are not a good mix. Paul Barker, H&S Consultant and Builders Merchant Technical Lead at Citation, which provides the BMF’s Safety Plus Service, explains how to manage the risks.
VEHICLE MOVEMENTS ARE a major cause of workplace injuries in the UK? Every year, there are at least 5000 incidents involving workplace transport and between 2015 and 2020, around 20% of all fatalities to workers were due to being struck by a moving vehicle. ‘Workplace Transport’ covers a range of vehicles, including cars, vans, lorries and lift trucks – in fact any vehicle or piece of mobile equipment used in the work setting. However, vehicles operating on the public road are normally excluded because road traffic law is applied in most circumstances,
Vehicle movements are a key safety consideration at all builder’s merchant sites, with a heavy involvement of forklift trucks, heavy goods vehicles, customer vans and cars. The wide variety of vehicles, working on the same site brings a range of challenges and merchants must ensure adequate precautions to keep everyone safe and be ready for any inspection.
Due to the high number of injuries involving workplace transport, the HSE has recommended that Workplace Transport, in particular pedestrian-vehicular collisions, is focused upon for local authority inspections.
What the Law Says Every employer must conduct a suitable assessment of the risks their employees and customers are exposed to, and for builder’s merchant, a workplace transport risk assessment is essential. Risks should be reviewed regularly and sensible and proportionate measures introduced to control these risks, while allowing pedestrians and vehicles to circulate in a safe manner.
12 Training
Once your risk assessment and control measures are in place they should be reviewed at regular intervals. Site safety audits help ensure the controls measures and safe working practices are being adhered to and enforced at ground level.
The Risk Assessment The risk assessment should identify work activities associated with the movement and operation of vehicles, including those visiting the site. For example: • arrival and departure; • traffic routes; • vehicle and pedestrian movements and segregation; • loading and unloading; • securing of loads; • coupling; and
• vehicle maintenance work. The assessment should consider if the vehicles are they suitable for the task they are performing. Do operators stick to the site’s speed limit and keep a safe distance from pedestrians? Are loading and unloading activities properly controlled?
Time taken to survey the site and monitor the operation of workplace transport can be vital in identifying instances of poor driving practices and help determine whether changes are needed to particular activities, such as loading areas and using traffic routes.
Control Measures Wherever possible, merchants should employ control measures to segregate workers and customers from moving vehicles at the site.
For example:
• site speed limits - use clear signage at the site entrance and in other areas. Floor markings can also be useful. Consider fitting speed restrictors to lift trucks. • designated customer parking bays and areas, ideally located away from other vehicle movements and nearby to the shop entrance.
• physical pedestrian segregation (e.g. barrier), walkways and crossings.
• limit pedestrian access to certain areas of the site. • mirrors on blind bends and corners.
• warehouse and yard areas barred from pedestrian access during vehicle use.
• designated loading/unloading bays.
• one-way systems to reduce or eliminate the need for reversing. • avoid reversing manoeuvres where possible and use trained banksmen if it is unavoidable. • use of high visibility clothing in areas of vehicle movements. • signage warning customers of hazards such as forklift truck movements
• introduction of the ‘2-meter clear rule’ around all forklift trucks. Stickers can be placed on trucks to show this.
Non-compliance by employees should be dealt with appropriately and swiftly due to the possible serious outcome of a workplace transport accident. Workplace transport training can assist in highlighting the hazards of a builder’s merchant yard to employees, and you should be able to demonstrate adequate staff training during inspections. Citation provides both workplace transport and banksman e-learning courses, which raise awareness of the risks involved in vehicle operations and safely working around them. Completed in less than 15 mins, this training could prevent serious accidents and prove vital in defending a prosecution or civil claim. BMJ
Citation specialises in helping builder’s merchants stay on top of their health and safety legal requirements. For information about the BMF Safety Plus service or to discuss any health and safety matter, please get in touch with the Citation team on 0345 257 4015. BMF members can also request the BMF’s H&S Business Guide on Workplace Transport from
Richard.Ellithorne@bmf.org. uk
www.buildersmerchantsjournal.net January 2022
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