The Regulations state that “(They) place duties on employers, the self-employed, and any person that controls the work of others (for example facilities managers or building owners who may contract others to work at height).
As part of the Regulations, duty holders must ensure:
- all work at height is properly planned and organised;
- those involved in work at height are competent;
- the risks from work at height are assessed and appropriate work equipment is selected and used;
- the risks from fragile surfaces are properly controlled; and
- equipment for work at height is properly inspected and maintained “
http://www.hse.gov.uk/falls/regulations.htm
Does this apply to delivery vehicles?
Yes it does!!
Statistics published by the HSE show that:
- “90% of falls from vehicle injuries are from falls below head height
- Approximately 2000 workers are seriously injured and on average 5 lose their lives across every year as a result of falling from a vehicle. The construction industry accounts for around 10% of these
- For all other industries, approximately three-quarters of those injured are delivery drivers. However, in construction 70% of all falls from vehicle injuries occur to non-drivers i.e. those who are involved in unloading delivery vehicles
- In construction falls from vehicles occur mostly when workers/operatives are working on, loading/unloading the vehicle, and getting on or off.
- A high proportion of construction accidents occur on delivery vehicles; usually on HGVs and flat bed vehicles
- 75% of major fall-from-vehicle incidents occur during loading and unloading activities”
Falls from vehicles can cost companies a great deal of money and will often result in serious injuries that can keep skilled employees off work for many weeks.
What to do.
There are some basic principles for working at height, and they apply equally to working at height on a vehicle or getting on and off a vehicle trailer. Although some people might not regard work below average head height as ‘work at height’, the law requires people to consider falls from any height where someone could be injured, including falls from trailers.
Some examples:
- Avoid working at height unless it is essential:
- position plant controls at ground level or use remotes to avoid the need to climb up,
- Use ground-based sheeting systems instead of manually sheeting,
- On articulated trailers ask for the Suzie connections at the fifth wheel to be fitted on a sliding connector block (or Mavis rail) allowing connection from ground level, avoiding the need to access the catwalk.
- Prevent falls by using work equipment that protects all those at risk, eg platforms with slip resistant surfaces, handrails and access steps (vehicle-based are better than site-based, so they are always with the vehicle);
- Use equipment that protects the individual, such as work restraint systems, ie a harness and lanyard that make it impossible for a worker to get to a position where they could fall.
- Lessen the effect of falls by using work equipment to minimise the distance and consequences of a fall: that protects all those at risk, eg soft landing systems, nets;
- Use systems that protect the individual, eg a personal fall arrest system with the anchorage point sited above the head.
- Manage fall risks through training, instruction or other means, like checking that access equipment is inspected regularly, applying sensible housekeeping measures, adopting safe working practices to cover work at height activities (eg loading/unloading, cleaning
The problems that Mabey Hire Services has faced.
Our normal deliveries and collections are made using flatbed lorries and trailers. Generally in the depots, these lorries are loaded and unloaded using Counterbalance Forklift Trucks. This ensures that there is no need for any of the depot operatives or the drivers to climb onto the wagon beds and work at height.
In exceptional circumstances, should access be needed the driver (or depot operative) must get permission from the depot manager, each depot has mobile stairs that can then be used for safe access.
We do however recognise that at the site end of the operations, the loads may be unloaded or loaded using mobile cranes, lorry loader cranes or even excavators. Access onto the bed of the vehicle may therefore be necessary to sling the load.
What did we do?
To ensure the safety of both our own staff and our clients’, we have now fitted all our company owned delivery vehicles with an edge protection system. The system comprises a simple post and chain system around the vehicle bed which is in place when the wagon arrives on site or it may be retro-fitted if necessary.
The chain can be disconnected from the posts and the posts removed from their holder and stored on the vehicle at anytime when it is not required.
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| Simple post and chain solution. |
This simplistic approach though suitable for most circumstances does not suit all our products. Indeed some products introduce other hazards such as our Barrierguard 800 vehicle restraint barrier. Barrierguard 800 is used to provide temporary crash barriers during road construction and repair projects, their purpose is to both protect the public in their vehicles and the workforce working behind the barriers.
These steel barriers come in 12m lengths and are 800mm tall. Loads generally comprise three layers of six barriers per layer. These barriers are laid in position using a lorry loader crane usually in a traffic management scheme during a night lane closure. After each lift, the wagon will move forward by 12m ready for the next lift. Safe access for the erection team to sling the barriers and remain in position during the move was therefore a major safety issue.
A bespoke system.
Our development team looked at the various systems on the market but none appeared to suit our requirements. We therefore decided to develop a solution of our own.
Our initial thoughts was based on a fall arrest solution but as the safety line would need to be above shoulder height, it meant that the vehicle would be over height if the line was kept in position, any lower and the slinger would probably hit the ground before his lanyard and energy absorber had a chance to work correctly. In addition, forces resulting from a fall arrest system would have resulted in a substantial steel frame system adding to the overall weight of the lorry and load.
After a bit of head scratching our team came up with the idea of a fall restraint system. The basis of this solution is a side frame that is attached to a cradle system. The side frame acts as a handrail but also incorporates a slide rail system, which allows a 2m lanyard to be fixed to it. The length of the lanyard prevents the slinger from falling off the other side of the wagon and the slider system allows the slinger to traverse up and down the trailer length.
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| Fall restraint system |
The frame was not the total solution; we then had to develop a ladder access system to allow safe access up to the load from the ground and a safe refuge for the slinger to stand once the load was being lifted and when the wagon was moving to the next section.
The design risk assessment identified the danger of the vehicle moving when a stationary ladder from the ground was used for access, we therefore had to design the access system with a drop down ladder from the bed that was free of the ground, our final solution has this ladder hinged so that once the slinger has accessed the trailer bed, this same ladder is hinged up for access up to the refuge point.
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| Refuge point |
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| Hinged ladder for safe entry and exit |
The finished solution allows the frame to be installed on any 12m flatbed trailer and if necessary stripped and left on site.
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| Side frame |
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| System in use |
As with our products, our policy is one of continual improvement which we also apply to Health & Safety.
To improve the Barrierguard side frame system we have carried out further developments including the facility to remove the top of the cradle to allow fork access across the whole of the bed, this prevents the reliance on the crane for the loading of the vehicle. The whole system has also be modified to work on the smaller rigid vehicles
On our other vehicles, a new lightweight 1m high curtain system that will act as edge protection is to be fitted to our new rigid vehicles, the first of which should be on the road by the end of this month. This system is fully removable and can be stored on the truck. It offers greater edge protection as the side curtain has no gaps. The lorry will also be fitted with an integral ladder for access to the bed.
We are very lucky to be in the position to be able to develop our own bespoke solution, not everyone will be able to do this. There is plenty of help and advice available to help you find the right solution for you try using the below links to find out more about working at height and falls from vehicles and preventing the risks associated with both.
http://www.hse.gov.uk/fallsfromvehicles/
http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/indg401.pdf
http://www.hse.gov.uk/falls/
