Workplace transport safety An employers' guide - ARRI Lighting Rental

Health and Safety
Executive
Trimming, sheeting and netting
Common risks
811 Some loads will need trimming to make sure they are well balanced and ready
to be transported, or before they can be sheeted or netted. Trimming is often
needed where bucket or hopper loading has left a load unevenly spread in the
vehicle container.
812 Trimming a load can involve climbing to a height that makes accessing the load
possible, but as usual should not need anyone to actually walk on a load if this can
be avoided.
813 There are a number of reasons you may want or need to cover a load, and
sheeting or netting is often a good way of doing this.
814 Some materials may need to be kept hot while being transported, such as
bitumen or asphalt. Other loads need to be kept dry, such as quicklime or some
other powders.
815 There are also legal duties to cover some types of load to:
n protect the environment;
n prevent them from being a nuisance when you go onto public roads (for
example, material being blown off); or
n keep them safe.
816 Loads need to be properly secured, and sheets or nets might be part of the
way you do this.
817 Sheeting, netting or removing sheets or nets can be dangerous, especially
when it is carried out by hand.
818 Rain or ice can make vehicle surfaces or the top of a load slippery, risking a
fall.
819 Trimming or covering a load can involve being in a high place. Chapter
Preventing falls from workplace vehicles provides more information on the dangers
involved in working in high places.
820 Loads can be uneven or unstable, so no one should walk on them if possible.
Loads might appear solid, but there might be gaps (known as ‘voids’) under the
surface of aggregate loads, or gaps between stacked bags or pallets. Loads might
also present other dangers, such as dangerous contents, high temperatures, sharp
edges or dust and fumes.
821 If sheeting or unsheeting happens somewhere windy, gusts can catch sheets
or knock workers off balance.
822 Sheets can be heavy or difficult to manage, causing strains or sprains, or doing
damage to workers over time. Sheets can get very heavy if they are wet or if a load
sticks to them.
823 Drivers sometimes walk backwards in dangerous places during sheeting or
netting, such as close to the back or sides of a vehicle.
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