Health & Safety News Brief Occupational Health & Safety Information Service
(OHSIS) November 2004
Safe transport in waste management and recycling facilities – HSE
This is one of a series of best practice documents designed and facilitated by the Waste Industry Safety and Health (WISH) forum to help the waste management industry in critical safety areas. Although the guidance does not set out legal requirements adopting it would secure compliance with the law in most cases. It is aimed for waste management facility managers, their supervisory staff and safety professionals within waste management companies.
It must be remembered that transport accidents are one of the most common causes of fatalities in the waste management industry and around 140 vehicle strike accidents are reported by the industry to the HSE every year.
The tool to establish sufficient controls is via Traffic Risk
| OHSIS Nov. 2004 - Table of Contents |
|
|
Assessments - using basic risk assessment principles. The main controls can be broken down into 2 areas
- Physical measures – such as road signs and markings
- Procedures – such as formal traffic management plans
The 5 key areas for consideration are:
1. pre-site entry issues
- pre-contract issues for contract work
- customers and other drivers plus casual and irregular visitors
2. a safe site
- reception and site entrance staff
- visitors
- weighbridges, induction and site rules
- driver checks and induction
- site layout, roads, signage and pedestrians
3. safe vehicles
- selection and fitness for purpose
- sheeting and specific hazards
- containers
- maintenance, daily checks and defect reporting
- visitors and customer vehicles
4. safe working
- tipping activities and areas
- vehicle movements – reversing, tipping and parking
- exiting the cab
- leaving the site
5. safe workers
- site rules – multiple sites
- monitoring and supervision
- enforcement and disciplinary procedures
- PPE and its use
- monitoring, review and feedback
Further information is available from the HSE