There are many companies with health and safety risks associated with on-site vehicle movements you don’t need to be a transport company to have this concern.
Any person versus vehicle interaction at close quarters can be dangerous if it’s not anticipated and managed carefully.
A quick search on any news site reveals plenty of incidents at workplaces the bottom line is, people will always come off worse.
Part of this risk comes from the need to manage different groups of people each having different roles and needs when on-site there are multiple variables and managing health and safety can be complex.
Rule number one is as a business you are responsible for the health and safety not just of your own workers, but that of anyone visiting your site.
New Zealand Institute of Safety Management (NZISM) president Greg Dearsly says there are a number of steps for managing people and vehicle movement on-site.
Here he outlines the following steps to help reduce risk and make sure operations are efficient, smooth and without incident.
Know the people or community in and around your organisation Information is key when it comes to managing risk and fully understanding your site operations and your supply chain is a priority.
It’s imperative you know how your site operates by considering who and how all stakeholders engage with your organisation.
This is your community and will include groups such as your own workers, from the warehouse to the management offices, internal, out-bound and in-bound drivers, and visitors such as contractors, customers, suppliers, even friends and family.
Capture the information in a database, either names or groups of people, so that you can communicate with them about your health and safety system and processes.
Whether this is mapped on a spreadsheet or through a sophisticated IT system, you need to know what’s happening in detail on a day to day basis in order to manage it.
Other information that will be useful includes:
– The number of vehicle movements on-site and whether they are inbound or outbound, or internal, such as forklifts moving goods.
– What are the peak times for vehicle movements?
– What types of vehicles are involved?
– What types of goods are involved?
The basic need is to know each element of site operations.
The best way to gather this information is to talk to your workers who operate in this area and use this as an opportunity for the organisation to learn from them – this is a great way to engage with those who are deeply familiar with what really happens daily.
Identify the potential onsite risks There will always be risks and every company is different, so it’s important to discuss them, identify them and work out how they can be managed.
Risks will include moving vehicles, pedestrians, visibility, stacking and storage of product or equipment,distractions such as mobile phones and personal audio devices, and the movement of heavy or dangerous loads.
You should also consider other conflicting activities that might be occurring on site and where there could be interaction with traffic movements.
Whether its maintenance, construction or cleaning work, make sure the risks associated with this does not pose other risks to workers.
People also become distracted by just being busy and not paying enough attention, or just being tired.
Also, visitors to the site can be a risk if they are inadequately supervised or unaware of the risks, and your health and safety protocols.
Develop processes to manage health and safety on-site Set-up a plan and make sure people understand it and its importance.
The information needs to be short and easy to remember.
The most effective way to manage the risk of pedestrians and vehicle interaction is of course, to eliminate, the risk.
However, if this is not reasonably practicable then the next option considered should be physical separation between vehicles and people while this can be expensive, it’s the level of health and safety all companies need to aspire to.
Vehicle movement sensors, GPS tracking, geo-fencing, lights and warning alarms are also used.
Whether you use barriers, or other forms of engineering controls, these are the most effective ways to manage risks in this area as they create a safe place and don’t rely on worker interaction to use them.
Less effective controls include painting lines on the ground to guide people around the site, installing signs to direct them creating zebra crossings at safe places to cross the roadways and having rules and procedures around how vehicles and pedestrians should move around a site.
While hi-vis or PPE (personal protective equipment) is usually the standard people resort to, it’s only a rudimentary tool and it won’t protect you against a moving vehicle.
These administrative and PPE controls are less effective than isolation or engineering controls as they rely on worker compliance.
The reality is that combinations of the above controls are the most likely way that a business can manage these types of risks.
One particular issue worth highlighting is when forklift drivers onsite are loading vehicles.
Ultimately, it’s the truck driver’s responsibility for the stability and safety of the load, but it’s the forklift driver’s job to load the truck.
The drivers of both vehicles need to discuss the loading process beforehand and then the truck driver needs to leave the loading zone until the job is finished.
There have been many incidents when the driver hasn’t done this and has been injured as a result.
It’s also very important to make sure everyone has the opportunity to be informed whether it’s through direct communication, such as emails, on-site using posters, signs and maps, and post it on your website.
Then consistently cover different aspects of it in different ways such as on social media, newsletters, video or set-up some internal awards make it interesting!
Understand the human aspects of health and safety.
No matter how much you emphasise the importance of health and safety there will be times when people lose focus using mobile phones while walking around an operational area is a good example.
It’s these times that can be the most dangerous.
Having great health and safety is both an awareness and a culture.
Get your team to talk about it constantly, make sure people are aware of its importance, listen to people’s concerns and take action.
It is everyone’s responsibility.
It not only makes sense to protect people on-site, it also makes business sense.
New Zealand’s record in workplace health and safety needs improving, and it is everyone’s role to help achieve this.
Sites where transport and the moving of goods is involved need special focus.
