Transportation : Health & Safety

23/03/2010 16:46:00 Transportation - Health & Safety

Health and Safety within the workplace is now a major consideration for businesses of all sizes. It is now the law that all work is completed within conditions which are acceptable from a Health and Safety perspective. All employees, directors and business owners have a responsibility to ensure that Health and Safety considerations are a top priority and that processes and checks are in place for their business. Ultimately all employers have a general duty to ensure that the health and safety of their employees and members of the public is not put at risk by the work that they do.

The importance of this from a transportation perspective is that any vehicle used for work and any place in which it operates other than the public highway is considered a place of work.

Risk assessment is crucial in this process, this generally means identifying a risk, managing and ultimately reducing that risk, it does not necessarily mean eliminating the risk altogether.

It must be remembered that all operational risks are different from each other and that every business must review and consider their own potential risks. The following are examples of what might need to be considered and reviewed. Please note that this must not be considered an exclusive list.

1. Vehicles
• What are they being used for?
• Are they fit for purpose?
• Are they properly maintained?
• Do they need to be replaced with new safer vehicles?
• Is visibility adequate?
• Should vehicle speed be restricted?
• Are the vehicles loaded correctly (i.e. well balanced and not overloaded)?
• Can the vehicle be properly immobilized whilst static work is taking place?

2. Premises
• Is it safe for the operation to be completed?
• Is there enough space?
• Is it properly maintained?
• Are signs and markings clear?
• Pedestrians and vehicles don’t mix! Are pedestrians kept clear?
• Are members of the public kept clear of activities?
• Are there any steep slopes which could create a “tipping” risk?
• Who has access to your site, are they made aware of safety requirements?
• Do you need to employ traffic calming methods?
• Is the site well lit?

3. Operations
• Arrival of vehicle
• Departure of vehicle
• Travel within the workplace
• Loading, unloading and securing loads
• Sheeting
• Trailer coupling and uncoupling
• Vehicle maintenance work
• When does work take place (i.e. at night)?
• Are suitable reversing procedures in place? And is everybody aware of them?

4. Drivers
• Are they adequately trained?
• Are they operating in unfamiliar surroundings?
• Are they under pressure which may make them work less safely?
• Are they working when too tired?
• Are they working safely?
• Are they taking short cuts which may endanger themselves or a Third Party?

Please remember this is not an exclusive list, but is an example of the types of transportation risk which could be experienced within the workplace. If in doubt you should obtain advice from a fully trained Health and Safety expert.
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