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Below is an introduction to the topic behavioural based safety. You can also search for your specific topic using the Search box at the top of the page or click on any of the following keywords and phrases:work at height, fall prevention and safe systems of work.
The BCSA has prepared a good working practice guide to assist in the identification of the appropriate means of protecting personnel from falls from vehicles during loading and unloading operations by using collective measures before personal systems are used, as described in the Work at Height Regulations 2005.
The Steel Construction Industry have considered the many innovations that have been developed as a result of the introduction of the Work at Height Regulations and some of the practical examples are give in this document, however it is acknowledged that no one system is probably suitable for all circumstances. The aim of this guidance document is to improve health and safety during loading and unloading of steelwork from trailers that takes place either at the steelwork factory or on sites. The guide aims to ensure that a consistent approach is taken to health and safety by those either planning for, in control of, or undertaking such loading work.
The Work at Height Regulations rely on risk assessments to be used to enable the best practice to be established and used for personnel involved in working at height. The assessment should also avoid putting more people at personal risk while installing and dismantling the fall protection measures. For example installing nets to a cantilever before installing the decking could put two people at considerable risk for a longer period than it would to put a person on a restraint system to complete the work.
The Clients and Principal Contractors re – the Construction (Design & Management) Regulations (CDM) must recognise that if a safe system of loading and unloading and storage facilities can be achieved then it should be recognised and adopted for the duration of the contract work(not just by steelwork contractors). The practice of leaving the "problem" to be managed by the contractor must be avoided when good planning and design considerations are used to benefit the management of good working practices.
Early identification of traffic management, holding areas and loading/unloading facilities that are required will establish the safety management leadership to support good practice when all loading and unloading takes place on construction sites. Some Principal Contractors have already taken their responsibilities under CDM seriously and provided access gantries that can be located around the site at appropriate positions for off loading and others have installed systems for the contractors to connect their safety equipment to before offloading. Unfortunately these pro active Principal Contractors are in the minority and there still seems to be an attitude of passing off their responsibilities to the contractor, which ends up with many different systems being used by different contractors. Some of these systems can be quite complex to others which really are not an improvement to health and safety.
The guide covers the early involvement of those that are in control of the site and the need to pre plan deliveries by vehicles, good information on risk assessments is also given along with the need to assess the residual risks that are caused when resolving one problem but introducing another at the same time. An example of this is when Principal Contractors insist on contractors building scaffolds around trailers to allow two or three steel sections to be offloaded. Little consideration is made by the Principal Contractor that building and dismantling a scaffold introduces more risks to more people for a longer period of time than using trained competent people to access a vehicle trailer to lift a load off by crane.
The development of safe systems of work should allow loads to be loaded or unloaded without creating additional risks to those involved in the operation. A safe system of work must eliminate/reduce the identified risks but not introduce risks that are equal to or greater than the original concern.
The BCSA Guidance gives a number of examples of the systems that are currently available and these are not an exhaustive list as new techniques and systems are being developed by the steel construction industry and different systems may need to be used in different locations due to the specific environmental conditions.
The steel construction industry has reacted responsibly to the Work at Height Regulations 2005 and will continue to train and educate those involved in loading and unloading of vehicles. Other industries may need to look at their operations as the Health & safety Executive will not just be focussing on the vehicles loaded with steel.
The Work at Height during Loading and Unloading of Vehicles Code of Practice BCSA 43/07 is available from the BCSA through the following link:
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