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Posted By Terry Wallington
Does anyone have any information and/or experience on maintenance of large (refuse, etc.) vehicles? Specifically I need guidance on providing a safe system of working on top of these vehicles.
Many thanks.
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Posted By Frank Hallett
Hi Terry
You could start with the HSE web site where there is a great deal of extremely useful info on WaH and vehicles.
After that, if you need specifics, please contact me direct - I do this.
Frank Hallett
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Posted By Emma Forbes
Hi, we had our refuse vehicles fitted with anchor rails around the top of the vehicles so the vehicle maintenance crews could fix a harness which would allow them to work on them.
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Posted By Terry Wallington
Thanks Emma. Are there any platforms or the like that would provide fall protection that are on the market?
Lines and harnesses don't actually stop them from falling and there is still a risk of injury. How do you justify your solution especially in light of the WaH Regs? I'm not saying you're wrong, there may be no other solution!
Thanks.
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Posted By Adrian Clifton
Terry
We use alluminium towers for work on the sides of vehicles and a fixed cable and fall restraint equipment as opposed to fall arrest for working on top of our refuse vehicles.
Visit www.sgb.co.uk for reasonably priced towers. Note; you will need a competent person to ercet and inspect.
Adrian
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Posted By Alan Woodage
Terry,
HAve a look at Safesite Hercule system, www.safesite.co.uk/catalogue/hurcule.php Basically a low level fall arrest system that works from a track installed above the vehicle workshop bays. I have found there products very usefull previously or they will work a bespoke system.
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Posted By Mr T
We have had a gantry built in our workshop to allow safe access to the top of road tankers. It was designed to suit our particular requirements by an engineering company Mainstream Engineering 01642 217200. They have built a number of working at height systems & may provide you with a solution
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Posted By Richard Hinckley
Terry - I have emailed you directly on this one, we have provided and installed horizontal wire based systems on vehicles for restraint, horizontal lines and beams in vehicle bays for fall arrest, free standing gantries, bespoke steps with edge protection when on top of the load and more recently a unique fully tested vacuum anchor device for temporary protection.
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Posted By Mr T
We assessed the requirement for working on top of our vehicles and as it was a repetative requirement we had to move away from the use of PPE and put in an automated system, (as soon as the worker lowers the access gantry the hand rail system automaticaly drops and surround the vehicle). If you use a harness or restaint system then you have to have a recovery system to get the worker free form the Harness within 15 minutes or blood flow to the legs and arms becomes a problem and an irreversable chemical re-action can take place in the Human body.
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Posted By George Wedgwood
This is an increasingly important aspect of vehicle (mainly fleet) management and the HSE's Waste Industry Safety & Health (WISH) Forum has already dealt generally with waste sector vehicle risks in its free guidance document, located at the Waste Industry web page (http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/web/wastetransport.pdf). More information about WISH can be seen at http://www.hse.gov.uk/waste/wish.htm.
This particular area may be one that has not been discussed in a lot of detail in as much as sharing best practice is concerned, so I will be willing to take this Thread into the next WISH Forum meeting (I am a Member of this Forum) to see if there is any interest in taking it any further. Of course other [reference removed]s may also be interested in this aspect but as yet, I don't know if others have discussed it - the FTA and RHA may also be interested. I will ask our friendly Inspector! A typical risk in the Waste Sector is changing beacon lamps and accessing fifth wheel level items such as wheels, sheets and tools, replacing windscreens etc.
Regards, George
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Posted By Mr T
Terry
When you assess the risks of working at height for your particular requirement bear in mind most maintenace work requires the worker to carry tools and equipment to the height required to work, although it is not identified in the HSE,s database most falls are form the lack of three points of contact, ie assessing the height via a ladder with a hand full of spanners and spare parts. There is clear guidence from the RHA regarding the heiracy on working at height on vehicles but this is for access only not for carring out a repair whilst you are up there. When we assessed the risk for our own workshop we fitted sevices (electic supply for drills & hand lamps, Air supply for windy Tools And a tool rack) on the access gantry to eliminate the requirement to carry these up every time, this also reduced the slip / trip and manual handling hazards.
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Posted By Merv Newman
Am I glad that I came across this thread ! Am currently working with a site that renovates military vehicles : APCs, Trucks, Tanks and so on. Each "production" line has about 12 work stations and the vehicle moves along the line. Employees frequently stand on top of the vehicle with no edge or fall protection. They have tried life lines but they interfere with overhead cranes. I've been trying to come up with some cost-effective (yeah, I know, cost shouldn't come in to it. Right) solutions. So I can now follow up all the given sources of information.
BTW, vehicles are certified by the army as "hazard free". ie no live ammunition, fuel or active armour. So far, so good.
Thanks fellas
Merv
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Posted By Mr T Wilcock
Have you considered a inflatable fall protection system? this cuts out the need for harness/fall arrest systems.
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Posted By Tony Brunskill
Depends on the circumstances but I habe seen a number of solutions from temporary harness arrangements to fixed access gantry which the vehicle can drive through. Drop me an email if you would like to chat this through.
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Posted By David Tilsley-Curtis
There seems to something of a theme developing within most of the responses to this thread, most people seem to be immediately going for horizontal lines.
There are practical problems of Mansafe lines, not lease of which is the standard 2 metre lanyard length taken together with the 2 metre damper section and the 1 metre upper body section as it spins round. As a result unless your are approx. 5 metre from the working or anchor position the operative will still have a serious injury. With multiple staff there are cross over dangers with the lanyards even when anchored overhead.
In addition to this the hierarchical nature of acceptable methods of preventing falls, Mansafe system are very much a last resort.
Many companies have supplied a range of permanent, temporary, mobile solutions to accessing a wide range of vehicles examples can be found at www.engaccess.com /main.htm
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Posted By P.J.O'Callaghan
I agree with David on this point I have some pictures showing some good systems that I will emai on
PJ
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