Workplace transport - an accident waiting to happen

10 August 2007

Workplace transport and pedestrian segregation is an issue that must be considered for safety’s sake hether you’re working on a busy building site, operate a storage yard, receive regular deliveries or just have a staff or customer car park.

Workplace transport and poor traffic/pedestrian segregation far too often results in death and serious injury.
Recently;

Transport Yard fine £120k for fatality
T J Morris Ltd, the firm behind retail chain Home Bargains, has been fined £120,000 following the death of employee Ian Edgar in December 2005. They were also ordered to pay the prosecutions full costs of £32,576.
Mr Edgar was killed when he was struck by an articulated lorry as he crossed the transport yard of the T J Morris distribution yard in Gillmoss. At the time of the incident, there was no designated route for lorry drivers to walk from the staff car park to the transport office located across the yard. There was no segregation in place between pedestrians and vehicles, and no information as to how staff were supposed to cross the yard in a safe manner.

Immediately after the incident, the investigation environmental health officer served an Improvement Notice to the company requiring them to take steps to ensure pedestrian and vehicle segregation. The company complied and installed a walkway complete with barriers and crossing points. However at the hearing it was revealed that the organisation had two previous health and safety convictions for breaches in 2004 and 2005.

Speaking after the case Liverpool City Council executive member Berni Turner said “The tragic accident that resulted in the death of Ian Edgar was easily preventable. A suitable and sufficient assessment of the workplace transport risks would have identified that there was a significant risk of pedestrians being hit by HGV’s in the yard, and that the consequences would be severe.

“The size of the fine imposed should serve as a warning to companies that the failure to ensure the health and safety of employees will be taken seriously by the courts and punished accordingly.”
(Source SHP – July 07)

Asda fined £80k
Following an incident in November 2005 where a female employee was seriously injured by a forklift truck, retail giant Asda has been fined £80,000 with costs of £17,500. Employee Debbie Evans aged 42, was stacking shelves in the warehouse of the Weymouth Store. She was bending down with her leg extended behind her. At the same time, a forklift truck was being driven along the same aisle. There wasn’t an
adequate separation system between the worker and the forklift.

During its final pass down the aisle, the forklift collided with Ms Evans and the pallet on the truck ran over her leg. The injury was severe, removing skin tissue and exposing bone. Surgeons initially thought that the limb may need to be amputated, but it was later saved. However, Ms Evans is now a registered wheelchair user and remains disfigured by her injury.

The prosecution was brought by Weymouth & Portland Borough Council. Inspectors discovered a series of systematic faults within the company. The head office had undertaken a pedestrian safety assessment as they were aware that they lacked a safe system of work, unfortunately the conclusions from this assessment had not been effectively communicated at local level. Poor practices were condoned at local level including forklift truck drivers routinely operating the vehicles with loads so high their view was obscured.

Asda pleaded guilty to a breach of s2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 relating to the separation of workplace transport. Environmental Health Officer Janet Moore for Weymouth & Portland Borough Council
said “A major lesson to be learnt from this case is that large corporate companies must actively manage local conditions through audit and review processes, and ensure effective communication and support for the stores, so that implementation of safety procedures is undertaken correctly.”
(Source SHP – August 2007)

Forklift truck broke man's legs
Wrexham based frozen food producer Pann Krisp Ltd has recently been prosecuted for two incidents involving forklift trucks that occurred within eleven days of each other. They were fined £25,000 with costs of £8,696.

The first incident involved driver Patrick Brindley, 53, who was transporting pallets from a mobile cold store to a loading bay. His forklift slipped from a bridge and subsequently Mr Bridley fell 3ft and became trapped between the truck and half a tonne of pallets. He suffered serious injuries to his feet, but was later able to return to work.
Eleven day later, another worker Vaughan Guest, 58, suffered severe injuries when a forklift truck was driven into him inside the plant. Mr Guest suffered two broken legs and remained in hospital for a period of four months. He was left unable to walk for nearly two years, and has only recently been able to walk with the aid of two crutches.

Pann Krisp Ltd admitted breaching S.2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974. The court heard that the company had already been warned about safety issues but had failed to act.

Speaking after the case Health and Safety Executive (HSE) inspector Stephen Window said “Both incidents demonstrated the clear need for employers who have vehicles in the workplace to have clear risk assessments and clear procedures in place for their operation. Incidents with forklift trucks are far too common, and they invariably result in serious injury. Where possible, pedestrians should be segregated from vehicles to minimise the risk of the two coming into contact, and drivers need to be trained - and if
necessary regularly re-trained - on safe operation within workplaces."
(Source HSE press release & icWales online)

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) have a wealth of information on workplace transport and offer the following advice for pedestrian and work traffic areas:

• Provide separate routes or pavements for pedestrians, to keep them away from vehicles.
• Provide suitable barriers or guard rails
• If both pedestrians and vehicles use traffic routes, they should be wide enough to allow vehicles to pass pedestrians safely and any pedestrian or vehicle only areas should be clearly marked.
• Where pedestrian and vehicle routes cross, appropriate crossing points should be provided, should be clearly marked, protected, and equipped, and their use should be enforced.
• Where crowds of people are likely to walk on to roadways, for example at the end of a shift, it might be best to stop vehicles from using these routes altogether at these times
• There should be separate doors for vehicles and people, with vision panels on all doors.
• On routes used by both automatic, driverless vehicles and pedestrians, steps should be taken to ensure that vehicles do not trap pedestrians.
• Safeguards should be fitted to vehicles
• There should be plenty of space between vehicles and people

If the public have access to the premises, routes for public use should:

• be separate from work activities wherever possible
• be as close as possible to where the public are likely to want to go (for example to visit a farm or factory shop)
• Routes for the public should be clearly signposted

For more information on workplace transport and your responsibilities visit the HSE website at http://www.hse.gov.uk/workplacetransport/
(Source – HSE website)