Posted By Ray Littlewood Can anyone help? I work for a local authority in Yorkshire. A large part of the cleaning operation at my site involves the emptying of specially designed 'tippable skips' into a compactor. This is done with the aid of a fork lift truck. The compactor hopper is not covered due to the nature of the operation, however there are safety features e.g. emergency stop button, stop/start contacts, hand rails. Up to press the control panel is switched on and left on in a morning when the cleaning operation begins. The cleaners approach the compactor with the skip on the forks and raise the skip to about 7 feet. They get off the truck and with the use of long hook type tool, pull a lever which releases the skips contents into the compactor. The cleaner then gets back on the truck and lowers the skip before replacing it to it's original position. The compactor is operated by the start button on the adjacent panel. A recent risk assessment highlighted certain hazards which we are currently addressing. An in-house H&S consultant has advised us that the panel should be locked away at all times which means staff having to unlock and then lock the cabinet before and after emptying each skip. This means staff have to wait until the rubbish is fully compacted before they can stop the compactor and lock the cabinet (extremely time consuming - although the benefits are obvious). Has anyone ever come across a code of practice or similar for such an activity. If so I would be most interested if you could forward me a copy or point me in the right direction. Many Thanks Ray