This week (22 – 26 July) sees a national police-led enforcement campaign focussing on carrying out proactive enforcement to identify unsafe vehicles and take appropriate action to keep the roads safe.
The Health & Safety Executive (HSE) statistics show that workplace transport is one of the highest risk activities.
During 2013 the Highways Agency reported over 22,000 road impact incidents caused by falling objects from vehicles which I’m sure you’ll all agree that has potentially lethal consequences, wastes time for everyone stuck in traffic, damage to the goods and other infrastructure in the incident and not to mention the penalty points and unlimited fines.
When deciding on how to manage workplace transport loads there are key focus areas to consider which include the following;
- Load securing
- Good practice
- Is the vehicle fit for purpose
- Is the vehicle properly loaded
- Securing methods
- Adequate load restraint
- Communication
- Load restraint system
- Responsibility for load securing, loading and unloading vehicles to include slipped and unstable loads
Should you need assistance then contact our team of Health & Safety Consultants who can provide advice and guidance ensuring your safety systems and risk assessments are fit for purpose.
