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Drivers, especially tippermen, face many risks off the road when loading or unloading. But who should shoulder the responsibility if the unthinkable happens?
The death of tanker driver Michael Woods, killed when his tanker touched overhead electricity cables while unloading (CM 8-14 July), underlined the dangers many drivers face every working day.
Alan Walker, training manager for TDG's Linkman Tankers, says accidents on the road are rare, but many tanker drivers face regular hazards at unloading points. More than 600 tanker drivers passed through Linkman's Batley training centre last year in accordance with the EC-wide hazardous freight regulations (tanker and tank container) and the equivalent regulations for hazardous packages.
"The first danger is putting product into the wrong storage," says Walker. "Then there is spilling product over the top of the tank, and another is spillage of product from a loose coupling or a burst hose. Sampling of tanks and tank containers is also a major area of concern and the system provided for this at each site is not always ideal."
However, responsibility is very much a shared burden. "The minute the driver is at the site the site operators are responsible for the driver's safety, just as he is responsible for meeting the requirements at that site for safe procedures," says Walker.
The transport operator back at base is also involved. He must have in his possession the relevant tanker or packaged regulations and the "authorised and approved list" of dangerous substances known as the AAL as well as the approved codes of practice which are applicable to the regulations. Only if he has them can the operator comply with all the requirements of the law.
DAILY BASIS
Tipper drivers are also subject to risk on a daily basis in a variety of environments, requiring specifically designed systems to protect them.
Midlands firm Welford Truck Bodies manufactures the Welford Bridgemaster, a device fed off the handbrake which audibly warns drivers of tippers or lorry loading cranes if their gear is not stowed properly, thus helping to avoid the type of accident that killed Michael Woods. When activated the Bridgernaster's voicebox repeats a loud warning inside the cab "Warning; your equipment is too high" while a red light flashes. The equipment can be fitted to a tipper for £280 and to a lorry loading crane for £400.
"On a waste-disposal site where a large number of vehicles are coming and going on a frequent basis, what you need is a welldefined system of work which lays down where the drivers go to and how they manoeuvre when they are there. It means having a well trained banksman," says Martin Barnard, director of health and safety at East Grinstead-based engineering consultant Travers Morgan.
His operation specialises in health and safety advice to construction companies. He says the construction industry loses about 130 people through accidents each year and incidents involving moving vehicles are second only to falls as the most frequent cause of fatal accidents. "For example," says Barnard, "one of the problems on a motorway repair site is the surrounding noise from the traffic. This lessens the chance of a person becoming aware that a vehicle is reversing. Many are fitted with bleepers, but even so the noise can be shrouded by the high background noise. What's needed is to have a person wearing the right high-visibility clothing whose specific job it is to control the vehicles."
Although common sense is called for, it also requires the imposition of a fixed discipline, he says.
Earlier this year, John Myers, managing director of tipper operator JH Myers and a member of the Road Haulage Association's tipping service, addressed the Tipcon '93 conference on the problem of toppling tippers. He quoted estimates that about 2,000 tipper vehicles fall over during unloading procedures each year. He stresses that drivers have to be alert to the influences of many factors, some of which can only be learned by experience.
"When tippers go over it's always a combination of factors," says Myers. "One is uneven ground, another is the load not being in the centre of the body so one side is heavier than the other." He reminds drivers of the simple rules that have to be followed: "For example, if you have a wind factor down one side and you've a damp load it can freeze down that side. When you come to tip it the frozen side upsets the balance. It's only supported by a ram—if one side goes out leaving the other 12 tonnes or so there's no doubt about it, it will go over."
But Myers adds that the unreasonable actions of site operators can place drivers at risk: "Often the site operator will say 'you either tip it there or you take it back. We've been tipping there for the last week and there hasn't been one gone over.' That doesn't mean to say that this one won't."
For the driver, using his common sense is part of operating according to the law. Alan Walker says: "The best site in the county should have a system of control that allows only the right vehicles on the site; that informs the driver of the requirements while at the site; and it should have written procedures for safe loading and unloading. The driver's duty is to comply with requirements and if he finds something unsafe it is his duty to bring it to someone's attention," he says.
As well as making the driver unpopular at the site, if he is subsequently denied the opportunity to unload, disciplinary action has been known to await the cautious driver when returning to base. However, under Section 28 of the Trade Union Reform and Employment Rights Act (1993) there is the provision for "additional protection against dismissal and action short of dismissal for health and safety representatives and other employees in particular circumstances where health and safety is an issue."
"What this means is that it is automatically unfair to sack or discipline a health and safety representative, for example, who decides that something is too dangerous to operate," says Mike Durant, north-west divisional officer with the United Road Transport Union. However, Durant points out that many traditional areas of danger for drivers have largely been eradicated.
He accepts that with the reduction of handballing, and the increase of forklift loading and unloading, that part of the the job has certainly become safer. But he feels that employees should also become more involved in discussions about purchase of equipment, as in many cases what is provided is not suitable for the job. Durant cites incidents where multi-drop drivers are obliged to step up on the wheel to get to the load, and tail-lifts with inadequate steps which, when wet, can cause drivers to slip off.
LIGHTER RIGS
Safety considerations were doubtless on John Myers' mind when he raised the possibility that the strength and stability of tippers could suffer if manufacturers continually seek ways to meet operators demands for lighter rigs to maximumise payload.
Safety came under the spotlight with the six sets of health and safety regulations which were introduced to UK industry as a whole on 1 January this year. They deal with: personal protective equipment; use of work equipment; manual handling; management of health and safety at work; workplace health, safety and welfare; and display screen equipment. All are driven by EC directives and are in addition to the existing Health and Safety at Work Act (1974), and they will all have some impact on the transport industry Collectively known as the "six-pack", they enforce legislation already in place, or introduce legislation in areas previously overlooked.
"Under the 1974 Act, for example, if a company employs more than five people a wTitten health and safety policy statement has to be prepared," says Martin Barnard. "What the management of health and safety at work regulations introduce is the need to prepare risk assessments for whatever tasks his staff need to be doing, and written procedures for those tasks need to be produced."
This is not necessarily a simple task, he warns: "People often set out to put the policy together with every good intention. But choosing the wrong form of words to reflect what they are trying to achieve can lead to problems. A company must also have access to health and safety advice with sufficient knowledge and experience of what is required."
Such advice might prove expensive but so is the cost of accidents. And as customers increasingly associate themselves with quality, safety is also becoming a positive asset.
F. by Steve McQueen
contacts: Welford Truck Bodies 021-557 7631.
Health & Safety Executive (0742) 892345.