I don't think risk assessment can be thorough if non qualified people do the driving.

If we are not careful we will drag up the old 'what is suitable and sufficient argument'. Site shunter training is available and endorsed by properly trained instructors and provides a company with a cost effective solution to the problem. I found this training extract from the net. 'The training of Non-HGV Drivers to drive maximum weight articulated and rigged vehicles ON-SITE ONLY around the company's premises. Trainees for these courses must have held a full car driving licence for at least one year. Drivers will be required to pick up and set down laden and un-laden trailers. Understand company safety procedures and adhere to employees responsibility concerning the Health & Safety at Work Act. Understand vehicle and trailer controls. Demonstrate ability to manoeuvre the shunter around the site, in particular reversing and trailer coupling and uncoupling, laden and un-laden. Course content includes:- HSE Workplace Transport Safety (INDG 199 rev1) Reversing Vehicles (INDG 148) and Parking Large Goods Vehicles Safely (INDG 312)'

Apologies if you've already got the answer your looking for but... We went down the road of formal shunter training. The main reason for this wasn't to make sure the drivers were competent at driving HGV's (due to the nature of our industry, most were) but because of the risks of poor coupling and uncoupling. Unfortunately, poor coupling / uncoupling still causes a lot of workplace injuries and fatalities and poor practices such as 'dropping the red line' can be common in distribution yards. As steve posted, good, formal, shunter training courses will address this and other significant risks such as reversing vehicles, banksman singals etc. etc. Regards, Ian P.S. The training / competence section of "HSG 136: Workplace Transport" is worth digging out if you need more ammo to get the costs sanctioned...

No accidents in 30 years of trading. No coupling or uncoupling. Reversing always with a banksman. 5 mphh applied and adhered to. Non HGV drivers (shunters) all have car licenses and are entitled to drive MGV upto 7.5 tonnes. All authorised 'shunters' have clean licenses. All drivers have been familiarised with the HGVs by the HGV drivers. Regular maintenance of vehicles and daily checkes. It is a large yard, with no customer vehicles, shared with 4 FLTs only and on and on an on..... I don't have any particular concern with this, or the RA which is thorough and quite adequate, but was asked the question by a client. We can justify the risk as being very low with the measures we have in place - which is what risk assessment is all about surely? Thanks Paul, I also wouldn't dream of stating an unseen RA was not thorough, which is why I ignored the comment.