Hi We have lorry's that occasional have to reverse past an area that is used by members of the public for parking. We can not avoid it there is no alternative the HSE are aware of the activity and so they have suggested that we train our staff to act as reversing assistants to ensure members of the public do not stray into the path of the lorry's the route is directly backwards with no turns or blind spots so the lorry drivers really do not need assistance to reverse they just need to be sure no one is in their way. Does any one have a method statement or banksman training notes I could have a sneak peek at just to ensure I have covered every thing in mine as there is little / no information on the net and I don't need full banksman training as we really just need people more to ensure that members of the public do not stray into the path of a reversing vehicle as opposed to assisting the vehicle it self back but I just want to ensure by asking our staff to assist they are not themselves place in danger. I have found the banksman signals on the HSE website but no other information seems to be available. Any help greatly appreciated. Regards Cres

Apparently the new term for such reversing areas/actions on the public highway or accross / through it is 'reversing assistant' as against banksman either way look at your own competence and go from there as its a basic activity and there's lots of info on the web re 'banksman' so take things from there Examples to think about; The 'reversing assistant' wears a high vis tabard or glove [for the hand signals], walk keeping with an eye on the vehicle as well as the footpath, ensure that drivers know that the 'reversing assistant' is a responsible person and that they should take notice of their guidance, use of whistle etc are all things to consider as well as undertaking a risk asessment and if you feel that the risk is low stay with your judgement and do not use 'reversing assistants' at that location

Cres if the Inspector advised Reversing Assistants the stick to that, there is probably a good reason why Banksmen were not insisted on. Particularly if the drivers are not your employees I have known businesses exporting or importing products world wide, in these cases you can be dealing with an International Fleet forwarder where many drivers do not understand English. If you train Banksmen then you need to train the drivers being banked to ensure that they understand the signals and rules. A Banksman gets involved in directing the lorry / driver and are at higher risk of traffic accident than a Reversing Assistant prime duties are to stand in a safe place and make sure everyone else keeps clear when any reversing takes place. Steve

Visit the public fire service, they will show easy signal for parking

We have also had to look at this as we have a similar problem. With us the HSE didn't actually say we needed a "Reversing Assistant" but to consider it as there is always the possibility of entrapment/crushing when reversing. On one of our sites we opted for a reversing area with no pedestrian access permitted. The biggest problem is to make sure the Driver and the Assistant have had the same training otherwise the driver maybe taking the wrong actions. I know talking to some of our drivers is was felt that a "Reversing Assistant" wasn't necessarily needed as the driver knows the dimensions of the vehicle but there was a need for an assistant to keep pedestrians out of the reversing area. So more of a "Pedestrian Assistant" to control access but also to ensure they are visible.