Workplace transport safety An employers' guide - ARRI Lighting Rental

Health and Safety
Executive
770 For more detailed and specific guidance about securing different types of
load (such as steel, timber, loose bricks), and load safety in general, see the free
Department for Transport Code of Practice Safety of Loads on Vehicles. 18
771 Tailgates and sideboards should be closed wherever possible.
772 All items of loose equipment (such as sheets, ropes, dunnage, rope ends)
should be securely restrained at all times, whether or not they are being used.
773 If you cannot avoid a load overhanging the edge of the vehicle, the overhang
should be kept to as little as possible and should be suitably marked.
774 The driver should make checks before unloading to make sure that loads have
not shifted while they are being transported and are not likely to move or fall when
restraints are removed.
775 Every driver should know what to do to deal with any load that has moved
dangerously, including what equipment is needed. They should be able to advise
workers dealing with a dangerously shifted load (including the emergency services).
A solution may be as simple as pushing the load off the vehicle from the opposite
side, with appropriate equipment and precautions.
776 Wherever possible, a safe area away from other work should be available
for vehicles carrying unsafe loads to be quarantined. A competent person should
decide upon a safe system of work before anyone tries to deal with an unsafe load.
Vehicles carrying unsafe loads should not be sent back onto public roads if they are
unsafe to travel.
777 As a general rule, goods carried in curtain-sided vehicles should be secured as
if they were being carried on an open, flatbed vehicle:
n A curtain is a thin, flexible sheet, and even when it is reinforced it can usually
only resist a moving load by bulging outwards. If this happens when the vehicle
is moving, it could make the vehicle unstable and cause an accident.
n If the curtains have been designed to secure loads, the weight of the maximum
load should be clearly marked. If no mark can be seen, it should be assumed
that the curtains cannot bear loads and, as far as securing loads is concerned,
may as well not be there.
n Before the curtains are closed, the load and its lashings should be thoroughly
checked for safety. This final check is important, as it can be very difficult to
check during the journey with the curtain sides in place.
n If the curtain bulges, showing that the load has shifted, the curtain should not
be opened. Access should be gained to the load compartment through another
route – possibly through the back door or through a curtain on the other side
of the vehicle. The safety, stability and security of the load should then be
assessed before unloading takes place.
n There are several different ways the strain a load is placing on a curtain could
be safely worked out. You could consider opening half a curtain, getting into
the vehicle from a different place or even undoing only every other strap.
778 Not all bulging curtains show that a load has shifted. It is possible that a load
has been well secured, and the sheet stretched over it. The driver will need to be
aware of how the curtains should look, so that they can judge safety during the
journey and when they arrive.
Workplace transport safety Page 95 of 144