Reducing the risks
March 1st 2007

Workplace layout is increasingly perceived as playing a crucial role in promoting on-site health and safety, and nowhere is this more relevant than in the loading bay environment, says Bernard Molloy, managing director of logistics consultancy, 3B Networks

While, statistically, the majority of forklift truck accidents are deemed to be the result of operator error, inadequate planning of the workplace is increasingly recognised as a major contributor to forklift – and possibly other forms of workplace transport-related – accidents.

While factors such as training, supervision, truck maintenance and compliance with instructions remain crucial if truck related mishaps are to be kept to a minimum, ill-designed and dysfunctional industrial environments are now accepted as a significant contributory factor to accidents. It is essential therefore that management can demonstrate that they have undertaken a thorough risk assessment at their facilities to ensure that their site is laid out in a way that minimises danger to employees and visitors alike.

In truth, it is probably only possible to design a safe environment when the cause of truck-related incidents is known.

A number of studies have shown that most fatalities occur when trucks overturn, but the most frequent forklift accident types reported involve pedestrians being struck or run over by a truck. Problems often arise when workers step out from behind things – such as lorries parked in a yard – giving the truck operator insufficient time to stop. Poor visibility (for pedestrian and truck operator alike) and lack of manoeuvring space are also frequently cited as major contributors to pedestrian injuries.

Separate for safety It is highly desirable therefore to separate site transport from pedestrian wherever possible. Of course, complete separation of pedestrians from FLT working areas is always a headache when space is at a premium - but it can, and increasingly must, be done.

One simple way to achieve total separation - in the yard at least - is to only load curtainsided trailers and flat bed lorries from one side. One forklift designed to make this possible is the JCB Teletruk.

The Teletruk differs from traditional counterbalanced forklifts in that, instead of the conventional vertical mast, it is equipped with a telescopic boom.

The Teletruk's ability to load and unload from just one side means the risk of an accident in a warehouse or distribution centre yard – or other application where space is restricted – is drastically reduced.

Large goods vehicles that are loading or unloading within a site or yard make natural obstacles to visibility and if lift trucks have to travel to both sides of a lorry to pick up and put away a load they have a blind spot every time they negotiate a manoeuvre that entails passing the front or rear of the vehicle. This brings a greater chance of accidents involving not only other trucks but also pedestrians.

With a Teletruk, when loading and unloading curtain-sided vehicles, for example, only one curtain needs to be opened and flatbed lorries can be parked against a wall – instead of in the middle of the yard. Furthermore, when Teletruk's are on site, the need to shunt HGVs in and around the yard to find the most spaceefficient position becomes a thing of the past and this contributes significantly to a safer yard or loading bay environment.

In an increasingly competitive global economy, work pressure is very likely to influence the safety climate when time and resources become stretched. But a better layout and design in the warehouse or yard for forklift truck operations allowing vehicles and pedestrians to be separated where possible can make any goods-in or dispatch area notably safer – and operationally more efficient.

Legal obligation Managing for safety is about reducing excellent way of demonstrating that a company has taken a pro-active approach to site safety and implemented remedial action before an incident has occurred.

With even more stringent Corporate Manslaughter legislation on the horizon, this seems a particularly sensible approach to take.

risks and every employer has a legal obligation to take steps to try to ensure that accidents are avoided through 'risk assessment'.

While the majority of warehouse or distribution centre managers will want to run a safe operation, it is often the case that an accident is the first trigger to review their procedures. The provision of pedestrian only areas in the yard is an