Posted By Steve Sedgwick Sam there appears to be little response to this one and falling off lorries is a common cause of fatal accidents. I dealt with one 2 years ago on one of our sites. I will try to advise based on my experience, and regular involvement with road transport activities. My own particular business uses road transport to deliver its materials to customers throught the world and we have > 150 customers. It does not employ drivers but contract haulage companies. In your case it appears that your customers are employing either their own drivers or contract hauliers. I would also guess that you also will have to arrange transport for the customers. Lets use your example of a customers driver falling off a lorry on your premises. 1. His / her employer is responsible for providing the driver with safe systems of work, equipment, training and supervision. The employer should also assess and control the risk of falling off the lorry, and that assessment should include understanding and assessing the hazards to the driver on your premises 2. Your business has responsibility under sec 3 of the HASAWA towards that driver to ensure that the drivers HS is not affected by your operations. Not to mention the MHASAWregs. My advise to you is for you to assess the risks for the loading of the load safely on your premises. Also check that adequate provision has been made for the driver to climb on and off his lorry safely, and given a safe place to sheet his lorry. Securing of the load is the responsibility of the driver and his employer, but you should still satisfy yourself that it is adequate. I would presume that the drivers do not get involved in the actual loading, but they do have the final say in where the load is positioned on the trailer. If they are slinging or using mobile plant then you should satisfy yourself that the they are properly trained. This is a very big subject and there plenty of issues to debate, but now that we have made a start on it here there should be more responses to open it up. regards Steve

Posted By Steve Sedgwick Sam I posted a response to this yesterday but it appears to have been lost. Anyhow. I feel that this subject is neglected even though sheeting of lorries and other jobs carried out on the backs of trailers is the cause of many fatal and serious accidents. I am aware of one similar fatality in Scunthorpe only a couple of weeks ago, one on one of my own sites 2 years ago, and one in South Wales just before that. You mention that your customers collect goods from your premises, but I guess that you deliver goods as well, either through your own fleet or a haulier that you contract the work to. Both your company, and the drivers employer have legal responsibility under the Workplace regs. but also under sec 3 HASAWA, MHASAW regs, and the Work Equipment regs. Briefly here is what I would do and this all depends on the size of your business:- Assess the risks of your traffic systems from entering the site, loading points, park up areas, sheeting areas, and route off site. Satisfy your self with the arrangements and equipment that you provide for these collections. Draw up some generic site rules many of which is basic info that the drivers (your customers) will need to make a safe and efficient pick up. (I have sent out an induction document to our contract hauliers for them to take all their drivers through prior to them being allowed on site. I could send you this.) Ask the customers for their risk assessments and safe working procedures which include collections from your site so that you understand the safety info, and instructions that these drivers should follow ( you may need to meet your customers HS contact and work through this jointly) Provide your site rules to the customers for their drivers to follow. If a customers driver falls off his lorry while carrying out his normal activities on this lorry then I would say that his employer maybe the one responsible. This is the drivers workplace and systems which are provided by his employer. If the driver falls off while climbing on or off his lorry and you have not provide a loading area where this can be done safely then it maybe your responsibility. If the driver falls off as a result of one of your employees unsafe acts, or due to your equipment eg FLT, OHC, or steps etc., then this would be your responsibility. I hope this creates a good thread, it is an area that is not getting the attention it deserves. Steve

Posted By Stuart Nagle Sam. This particular problem has been around a long time and is a recognised safety hazard. Whilst the driver on the flatbed may not be your employee (directly) they are I presume contracted to your company (or your customers employees or contractors), but most importantly, they are on YOUR site!! hence your company has a legal duty to ensure they work safety and employ safe working methods, so far as is reasonably practicable. There have been numerous efforts over recent years to improve safety in sheeting etc, not least the 'gantry' over a lorry where drivers stand and sheet their loads from. A number of large companies invested in these to have them virtually stand idle as drivers don't use them!! HSE commissioned a study with a consultancy (SERCO) last year to do a study, with the aim of producing a contract reseach report which would probably have led to more 'goal setting' regulations, but this I have discovered been scrapped. I can advise that Marley are currently doing some reaserch into a device (telescopic I think) that sheets loads and also can act as a fall arrest restraint when the drive wears a harness with a line attached to it. There are also a number of other mechanical/hydraulic devices on the market devised to pull sheets over loads for various types of vehicles, but not it seems flat bed trailers per se where the load(s) are normally strapped on. The only system I saw employed for flat bed trailers that worked was operated by loads being managed by the source company, e.g. the loads where loaded onto trailers by the company whilst in a purpose built loading bay,. the trailers were then collected (already sheeted and strapped) and delivered to the customers. Unsheeting was not by the same method but 50% of the risk (at one end of the operation) had been negated. Where actual sheeting of loads is not necessary, but placing pallets etc by the driver is required for loads to be postioned on, the risk can reduced by pre-paletising the loads prior to loading, thus the driver does not need to climb onto the trailer to place pallets. if unload is by FLT the need to climb onto the trailer is reduced significantly. If we will ever get a workable solution is debatable, and no doubt the subject will continue to be a thorn in the side.