Workplace transport safety An employers' guide - ARRI Lighting Rental

Safe vehicles
Health and Safety
Executive
848 If you can’t avoid the need to cover loads, you should use mechanical
sheeting methods that avoid people walking on vehicles or loads wherever this is
reasonable.
849 Think about mechanical sheeting systems when you negotiate new contracts with
hauliers or when you consider new vehicles. They can also often be fitted onto existing
vehicles.
850 Mechanical sheeting systems normally allow sheeting and unsheeting from
ground level or from the cab.
851 Apart from reducing risks, mechanical sheeting systems can avoid the need for
expensive gantries or platforms, and will be available at the destination as they are
usually fixed to the vehicle.
852 Sheeting systems can also save money by greatly reducing the turnaround
time of vehicles on site, and by creating more streamlined loads (saving time and
fuel).
853 Mechanical sheeting systems can be fully automatic or operated by hand.
Fully-automatic systems are better because the driver can usually be somewhere
safe and doesn’t have to strain.
854 Many mechanical systems spread a traditional sheet across the load, either
from end to end or from side to side, or by spreading it from the centre to the
sides. There are several common types:
n many systems involve a sheet on a roller, mounted on a mast behind the cab.
The sheet is then dragged out over the load, by mechanised arms on the trailer,
or sometimes just by a rope being pulled. Special care needs to be taken when
these systems are used in windy conditions;
n tightened wires on pulleys, running along the top of the vehicle sides. A sheet
is attached to them like a washing line, and moving the wires can either cover
or uncover the load. This system is cheap and effective, but can be stopped
by heaped loads, and the gathered sheet can take up a lot of space. Other
problems include the sheet not making a complete seal over the load, and the
sheet flapping when it is not being used (this strains the equipment).
855 There are several different types of fully automatic systems for covering a loads
that don’t use traditional sheets:
n ‘spray sheeting’ involves covering a load with a liquid that hardens into a
protective shell. This would usually take place at the weighbridge, where the
operator can decide the extent of spraying. Spray sheeting will replace the need
for sheeting or unsheeting, but involves a cost for every spraying and cannot be
used on all loads (for example, quicklime cannot be spray covered);
n panel systems can extend from the back of the cab, unfolding over the top of a
container or the body of the vehicle. These can completely remove the risks to
drivers involved in sheeting or unsheeting. There are other problems you should
consider, such as overloaded or protruding loads preventing the panels from
closing completely or the panels dislodging items that could fall.
856 There are many systems that partly automate sheeting, making the job
safer for the driver. They are often like the automatic systems for normal sheets
mentioned above, but with some effort needed from the driver to move the sheet:
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