HSE-Workplace Transport
Every year, about 50 people are killed and more than 5000 people are injured in accidents involving workplace transport (www.hse.gov.uk/statistics). The most common causes are people falling from or being struck by a vehicle, objects falling from a vehicle, or vehicles overturning.
What is Workplace Transport
Workplace transport is any activity involving vehicles and equipment used in a workplace. Vehicles driven on public roads are subject to additional DVSA regulations.
Legal Obligations
Employers have a legal duty to ensure that the health and safety of their employees, contractors and members of the public are not put at risk as a result of the work they do. Employees and the self-employed also have a duty to look after their own health and safety and that of anyone who might be affected by their work
Workplace Vehicles and Maintenance
Safe vehicle
Vehicles used in the workplace should be suitable for the purpose for which they are used.
You should carefully consider the working environment in which a specific vehicle will be used and the suitability of that vehicle for the people using it. Consulting with those who will use it is a key part of developing a vehicle specification.
The Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations 1986 set the standard for the design and construction of vehicles used on public roads. Most vehicles used in the workplace should meet this standard, but in some cases there are specific supply standards for mobile plant (eg some lift trucks).
Warning devices such as rotating beacons and reversing alarms are often fitted, and conspicuous painting and marking can be used to make a vehicle stand out to pedestrians.
Drivers should be able to see clearly around their vehicle, so consider measures such as CCTV and special mirrors where visibility is restricted.
Vehicles should be designed so that, wherever possible, those who use them can do their work from the ground. Where people have to work at height on vehicles, suitable means of safe access onto and around vehicles should be provided.
Maintenance
Vehicles should be maintained in good working order so they remain mechanically sound, and any devices, such as flashing beacons, function properly. Vehicles such as lift trucks and those with tail lifts must be thoroughly examined by a competent person and reports kept.
Planned inspections are a vital part of preventative maintenance. These may include daily safety checks carried out by drivers and regular maintenance inspections based on time or mileage.
Drivers should be provided with a list of the daily checks to be signed off at the start of each shift. This should be monitored to ensure the checks are carried out properly.
Safe driver
Drivers should be competent to operate a vehicle safely and receive appropriate information, instruction and training for the vehicle they use. It is particularly important that younger or less experienced drivers are closely monitored following their training to ensure they work safely.
