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Thomas Truck Training News
1998 | AN ACCIDENT WAITING TO HAPPEN?
Sainsbury's PLC has recently been fined a staggering £425,000 and £75,000 costs after an employee was crushed to death in an accident involving an unsafe fork lift tuck. This is thought to be one of the highest ever Health & Safety fines imposed, and should be sending a strong signal to employers, warns Tony Ridge, Senior Health & Safety Advisor at Lambert Smith Hampton. Mr Ridge continues: "As well as risks of falling stock and collisions with pedestrians, lift trucks have potential for overturning or losing control when carrying loads in the raised position or when driven too fast around corners or when driven incorrectly on uneven ground or slopes. "The Manual Handling Regulations require us to mechanise goods handling, wherever practicable. Lift trucks are just one of the mechanical handling devices used in and around warehouses and there are serious safety implications involved in all of them. The basis of achieving safe mechanical handling arrangements is of course Risk Assessment. Before setting any procedures in place, you should ask yourself whether the equipment is right for you. What are the risks inherent in the equipment? What precautions should we put in place and have we communicated these to the staff and anyone else who needs to know about it? "When considering whether a device is suitable for you should think about the amount of space you have got, especially the layout, the aisle widths and if your equipment has the capacity to carry the maximum weight possible at your maximum storage heights. Once you are satisfied that you have the most suitable equipment, make sure it is inspected, maintained and serviced in accordance with manufacturer's instructions. This should include daily safety checks prior to use, periodic servicing and - where appropriate - periodic statutory examination. All equipment should only be operated by authorised personnel who have been trained to do so. The following are a range of mechanical handling devices designed for use in and around warehouses: Order Picking Machines Normally operating in dedicated racking systems, they allow the operator to travel up and down in a cage platform. Like lift trucks they require six monthly statutory examination. Additional risks include those associated with working at height and the risk of entrapment when working in a confined working area. Lifts Scissor lifts are either fixed or portable and are used to transfer people or goods from one level to another. They need periodic statutory examination and should be equipped with safe working load notices and suitable fencing to minimise risk of falling. The main hazard is entrapment so maximum guarding of moving parts should be put in place and extra care taken during lowering and general movement of the lift. Goods lifts need regular servicing, six monthly statutory examinations and general care in usage such as avoidance of overloading. Overhead Cranes These are only found in fairly specialised warehousing operations such as metal stockholders. If they are operated at floor level from hand-held pendant controls, trip and slip hazards can be a concern when the operator moves around. Portable remote control systems are available allowing the operator to choose the safest vantage point. Obviously when a load is on the move, other workers can be at risk so a safe system of work is essential. Cranes must be regularly serviced and have periodic statutory examinations. Conveyors Moving belt and roller conveyors are the two most common types of conveyor. The former is powered while the latter may be powered or be free-running. All can be arranged for either inclined or horizontal travel. Entrapment is the main risk so the assembly should be fully guarded and provided with adequate Emergency Stop arrangements. Staff should be banned from riding on conveyors and overhead systems require suitable screening to prevent goods falling onto people below. Teagle Openings A teagle is an opening in the external wall of an upper floor used for loading and unloading. The main risk is to personnel in the teagle falling. If a forklift truck is carrying out the lift, a safe system of work such as an interlocked gate system is advised. Where the opening is serviced by a hoist the HSE advises inward opening doors which should be locked when not in use and have secure grab-handles on either side of the opening at 1.2 metres above the floor and with a grip length of 360mm minimum. Chains are not acceptable. As always, safe working loads for the hoist must be displayed and adhered to. For further information, please contact Lambert Smith Hampton's Health & Safety Division on 0345 413890. http://www.lsh.ie/news/mechanical_handling.htm22nd 22nd December 1998 No Responsibility accepted for the accuracy of this article |
| CRICK WAREHOUSE FINED FOR HEALTH AND
SAFETY BREACHES Daventry Magistrates today fined Ryder Plc £4000 plus nearly £5000 costs following a serious accident in which an agency worker was injured for breaches of health and safety legislation at their distribution warehouse in Crick, Northamptonshire. On 9 March 1998 an agency worker at a distribution warehouse operated by Ryder Plc at Eldon Way, Crick, Northamptonshire, suffered a neck injury after being trapped between racking and a fork lift truck. The worker was conducting a stock check on goods stored on high level racking, by standing on a working platform fitted to the forks of a fork lift truck. A misunderstanding between the fork lift truck operator and the working platform occupant resulted in a premature and unexpected upwards movement of the platform, trapping the platform occupant’s neck between the side of the platform and the racking. The company admitted that it had failed to take the necessary steps to ensure the safety of agency staff working at its premises. In sentencing Ryder Plc, the Chairperson of the Bench said: "The level of fines imposed were mitigated because of the action taken to rectify breaches and the good health and safety record they have". Daventry District Council Safety Officer Bob Stevens investigated the incident and comments: "This case highlights the need for employers to assess all risks at their premises in order for them to put safe systems of work into place for the protection of everyone who works for them or others who may be affected. The investigation showed that it was not a failure of the equipment itself but a failure of the management to implement a safe system of work which caused this serious accident." NOTES TO EDITORS 1. Ryder Plc pleaded guilty to contravening Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc 1974 and Regulation 3 (1)(b) of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1992 at Daventry Magistrates Court on 3rd February 1999. 2. Section 3(1) of the HSW Act states: "It shall be the duty of every employer to conduct his undertaking in such a way as to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, that persons not in his employment who may be affected thereby are not thereby exposed to risks to their health and safety." 3. Regulation 3(1)(b) of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1992 states: "Every employer shall make a suitable and sufficient assessment of the risks to the health and safety of persons not in his employment arising out of or in connection with the conduct of his undertaking, for the purposes of identifying the measures he needs to take to comply with the requirements and prohibitions imposed upon him by or under the relevant statutory provisions." For further information, contact Bob Stevens or Mike Arnold on 01327 302551. 3rd Feb 99 Taken from DDC Web page http://www.daventrydc.gov.uk No Responsibility accepted for the accuracy of this article |
| Tragically a 23 year
old man was killed in February 1998 when
the reach truck he was driving overturned. There were no witnesses to the accident which happened when the deceased, who was not trained or authorized to drive, decided to start practising on the truck. It is believed that, as he drove between two rows of metal racking the truck's mast struck an overhead metal bar and the 3 tonne 
truck toppled over landing on top of the operator who suffered a
fractured spine and died instantly.
Acknowledgements for this picture to Safety Management Magazine,
published by the British Safety Council Further Information found and added........ There were no witnesses to the accident which happened when the deceased, who was not trained or authorized to drive, decided to start practising on the truck. It is believed that, as he drove between two rows of metal racking the truck's mast struck an overhead metal bar and the 3 tonne truck toppled over landing on top of the operator who suffered a fractured spine and died instantly No Responsibility accepted for the accuracy of this article |
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Take
a look at the past stories of accidents and near misses in in the UK and else
where in the fork lift world
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