On the safety trail
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Words: Roger Brown Working at height, visibility and load security regulations are just some of the safety rules haulage companies that operate low-loader trailers have to abide by.
Andover Trailers, which has been building step-frames in the Hampshire town since 1985, prides itself on its meticulous approach to design quality and health and safety standards. However, director Ivan Collins is not afraid to highlight what he sees as some of the inconsistencies and absurdities in the law.
He tells CM the story of a customer transporting plant and machinery on to a construction site in the South East.
"The health and safety representative at that site insisted that the worker needed more protection for working at height," he says. "We had to design a sort of fence to fit around the edge of the trailer — a series of poles and straps costing about £3,000. Other, similar sites nearby were happy for an [otherwise] identical trailer to go on site without the working at height system. We are happy to make our trailers as safe as possible, but what is annoying is the lack of consistency in this country."
One of the most unusual safety devices Collins has witnessed health and safety reps ask operators to use is a working at height impact-cushioning system — a sort of airbag that deploys around the trailer if a worker has a fall. "It seems the interpretation of health and safety is entirely down to the rep or officer responsible: some are ultra-cautious, some show more common sense," says Collins "But we are always willing to talk to customers about safety matters, and give advice based on our long experience in the industry."
A few years ago, there was a tragic accident one night when a car drove up the lowered ramps of an Andover low-loader trailer parked on a carriageway having just loaded a piece of plant. The car driver was killed, although there was no question of Andover being at fault or to blame for the incident.
Since then, Andover has introduced slide-out safety lights for hauliers who unload trailers and machinery in the dark. The lamp assembly is fitted to a sliding mounting plate, so the driver only has to release a catch and slide the light out. Gravity rotates the lamp as the ramp lowers.
Collins says: "The question for many operators when scheduling night operations is do you put reflective cones behind the trailer, fit more lights or do both? Our advice is to do as much as possible to ensure that the operation is safe."
The Road Vehicles Lighting Regulations 1989 state that all legally specified lights must be visible at all times. Lighting must be seen from every angle, especially during loading and unloading, or when a low loader is carrying an overhanging load.
Andover also provides lights a haulier can remove from the ramp and clip onto the side of the vehicle.
"Some operators are going through hard times. The lights can add about £300 to the cost, but they are very important," says Collins. "Reflective tape on trailers can make them stand out, although keeping the tape clean and effective in a mud-soaked environment isn't easy."
Collins says that with the guards fitted to the sides of trailers to protect cyclists, it is often a matter of interpretation as to where they should go. It can sometimes be difficult to attach them in the preferred place if bulky crane equipment behind the cab gets in the way.
According to Collins, Germany gets the health and safety balance about right. He says: "We build forklift trailers with sliding roof systems, sourced from a German company called TSE. They are of excellent quality and simple and safe to use. The regulations and testing programmes in Germany are excellent and provide clarity and continuity.
"Going back to the example of the expensive working at height system we designed for the requirements at one particular site, there certainly isn't the level of inconsistency in Germany that you find in the UK."
Collins believes a lot of the health and safety agenda is driven by no win, no fee solicitors and that the situation isn't helped by the UK usually adopting strict safety directives from the EU that other member states ignore.
He concludes: "Are the Department for Transport or the Health and Safety Executive ultimately responsible for enforcing operator liability for vehicle construction and use regulations? What we need in the UK is a unified approach to enforcement." • ANDOVER HISTORY Andover started production in 1985 from the old Tasker Trailer factory in Anna Valley. The company received its first trailer order from Barlow Handling for a tandem-axle forklift trailer with an aluminium body and full-width ramp.
In 1993 the firm linked up with German manufacturer Goldhofer to increase the range of equipment the company could provide, from a 6-tonne drawbar up to modular equipment to carry 10,000 tonnes. It is now the sole importer of the German trailers in to the UK.
THE WORK AT HEIGHT REGULATIONS 2005 Under the Work at Height Regulations 2005, duty holders must ensure: • all work at height is properly planned and organised; • those involved in work at height are competent; • the risks from work at height are assessed, and appropriate work equipment is selected and used; • the risks from fragile surfaces are properly controlled; • equipment for work at height is properly inspected and maintained. There is a simple hierarchy for managing and selecting equipment for work at height. Duty holders must: • avoid work at height where they can; • use work equipment or other measures to prevent falls where they cannot avoid working at height; • where they cannot eliminate the risk of a fall, use work equipment or other measures to minimise the distance and consequences of a fall should one occur.
Relevant legislation IThe Work at Height Regulations 2005 Road Vehicles Lighting Regulations 1989 The Road Vehicles (Construction & Use) Regulations 1986