Safe%Loading%&%Unloading%%

(Incl&LUEZ)&

Mike Robertson
File name: Safe Loading & Unloading.pdf MD & Engineering Manager
Our Ref: E00540 0425 001 086
mike.robertson@engistics.com.au
 Why is the Logistics Industry
SO Poor at Safety?

•  Often the Warehousing and

Distribution Division is the poor
cousin of the business = less
focus from management
•  Road transport companies are
obsessed with on-road safety
•  “ You can’t stop idiots on the road”
•  “ 2/3 of all truck / car accidents are
the car’s fault”
•  So Road Transport tends to be
Blind to the fact that >25% of their
fatalities are INSIDE their gate
(and many more unloading
fatalities are in public spaces)
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There&are&2&issues&here&
Chain&of&Responsibility&or&WHS?&
Chain of Responsibility Laws
(Compliance & Enforcement act)
RMS (RTA) / VicRoads
Now the NHVR (from Feb 2014)
Apply for “ON Road” Issues
Aimed at related parties in the
supply chain
Typical applications
!  “On Road” offences
!  Multiple parties over same breach
Another&session!&
Workplace Health & Safety Laws
(Formerly OH&S Laws)
Workcover / WorkSafe
Apply for every workplace but, by
Inter Dept Agreements not take lead
“On Road” issues
Typical applications
! Forklift / traffic Management
! Falling off trailers
! Loading & Unloading injuries
! Runaway Trailers
Today!&
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WHS Law says…..

Legislative Requirements

A common feature of all legislative requirements

is the need to:

"  “Provide a safe place of work”

This is achieved through:

1.  Evaluation of tasks and potential risks
2.  Establishing suitable controls to
reduce risks you identified.

So&how&much&training&have&you&
787#“truck#related”#Industrial#
had&in&RISK&ASSESSMENT?& Deaths#recorded#in#10#years##
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 Key Risk Areas – Loading and Unloading

How do you undertake a quality risk

assessment of your Logistics site?

Energy method = Best Start point

"  Kinetic energy
"  Trucks
"  Forklifts
"  Cranes

"  Potential energy

"  The load – on truck or mobile
equipment
"  People at height

"  Electrical energy

"  Chemical energy
"  Strain Energy
"  etc
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 Key Risk Areas – Loading and Unloading

Forklift and People Interaction

"  Interactions with people and

Mobile Equipment is a major risk.

"  Forklifts have high accelerations,

change direction quickly, but
provide poor visibility for the driver Is&the&Park&brake&really&on?&

"  Forklift operators find it difficult to

keep track of pedestrians.

"  Inexperienced pedestrians are

unaware of the risk. Just&how&close&
do&you&really&
"  Experienced pedestrians often need&to&be?&
become immune to the risk.
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Key Risk Areas – Loading and Unloading

People get complacent and WAY TOO Close to Forklifts

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 Key Risk Areas – Loading and Unloading

Falling Product

"  Falling product has resulted in multiple

fatalities, and serious injuries.

"  Load dislodged by crane or forklift

"  Forklifts often push product off the
opposite side.

"  Load falls from the crane or forklift tine.

"  Loads that move in transit can fall when

lashings are released, or curtains or
container doors are opened.
Falling#building#products#–#
"  Reality Check! In the human reaction Mark#Beilby#Fatality#
time of ~1.5 seconds, a load falls 11
metres. “Be careful” is not enough! 8&
Key Risk Areas – Loading and Unloading

Product moving on crane or forklift

"  Even if the product doesn’t fall……

Serious injuries or death are common

"  People crushed

"  Load traversing in
"  Load lowering
"  Load slung off centre
"  Load slides off the tines
"  Domino effect

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 Key Risk Areas – Loading and Unloading

People&Falling&off&Trucks&
&
"  Too&common&for&drivers&or&loaders&
to&fall&from&the&truck&deck&

"  Worksafe&Australia&reports&that&
between&2009&and&2011&a&full&49%&
of&ALL&injuries&due&to&falls&were&
truck&drivers&(1540&of&3100&claims)&

"  MulYple&fataliYes&and&serious&
injuries&have&resulted&

"  There&is&rarely&a&simple&soluYon& It#is#simply#irresponsible#&#illegal#to#allow#

this#sort#of#behaviour#on#your#sites#
&
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 Key Risk Areas – Loading and Unloading

Reversing&Trucks&
&
"  Reversing%trucks%vs%pedestrians%are&always&
a&hazard&

"  Poor&to&zero&visibility&for&the&driver.&

"  Pedestrians&run&over&

"  Pedestrians&crushed&against&dock.&

"  Finger&docks&even&worse&

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 Key Risk Areas – Loading and Unloading

Loading&Docks&
&
"  Falling%%forkli9s%are&a&killer&

"  Can&be&forkli]&driver&error&

"  Can&be&due&to&truck&moving&

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 Key Risk Areas – Loading and Unloading

Truck&moves&during&load/unload&
The#driver#“knows”#he#can#move#
&
"  PotenYal&for&vehicles&to&move&part&
way&through&loading&or&unloading&

"  MulYple&fataliYes&and&serious&
injuries&have&resulted&

"  Vehicle&runaway&with&handbrakes&
incorrectly&applied&

"  Vehicles&actually&drive&away&
&
&
&
&
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Risk Controls – Loading / unloading

Hierarchy of Controls
1.  Eliminate the hazard altogether.
2.  Substitute
AIM&FOR&
3.  Isolate
THE&
4.  Engineering
HIGHER&
5.  Administrative (SOP) LEVEL&OF&
6.  Personal protective equipment CONTROL&

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Risk Controls – Loading / unloading

"  Controls must be “fit for purpose”

"  Use quick temporary options to

confirm which controls work best

"  Check that the controls selected EffecYve&control?&

are robust and likely to have
strong compliance

"  Use the hierarchy of controls

"  Aim high
"  If procedural, they need to
be robust, well trained,
and heavily enforced.

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 Risk Controls – Loading / unloading

Exclusion Zones

Can’t See – Can’t Load

"  Very important and now

minimum controls

"  Separation of people from

forklift, crane, and falling
loads

"  You can’t stop product falling

off tynes, so stop people
being in the “Falling Zone” Conceptual#LUEZ#
You#should#adapt#this#idea#to# A#green#mat#can#
"  Loading Unloading Exclusion suit#your#situaLon#and#risks##
Zone = LUEZ make#a#cheap#and#
flexible#driver#zone#
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 Risk Controls – Loading / unloading

Traffic Management
LUEZ Should overlap with plant’s
Question how we can increase overall Traffic Management
the hierarchy of control level

"  Define areas that are high risk

"  Physical controls that restrict

access of pedestrians into
high risk areas.

"  Very important to keep out

any through-traffic

"  Minimise loading numbers in

the area – people, forklifts
"  Driver removed and kept out unless
required for the loading process
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 Risk Controls – Loading / unloading

Vehicle Isolation
Several potential solutions:

"  Isolate driver from vehicle and

loading area
(if not required for loading)

"  Isolate forklift from truck

where or when driver lashing/
unlashing the load

"  Isolate keys

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Risk Controls – Loading / unloading

Prevent Pedestrian/Truck Interactions

"  Isolation fencing/gates

"  One way traffic (forward)

"  Overlap with Traffic Management

Prevention of Dock Falls
"  Limit activities allowed in interaction
areas
"  If loading docks are present,
consider if docks are right for
"  Special care at the base of raised
your business
docks, and/or where trucks are
reversing
"  Isolate area when not in use
"  “Critical” procedures at a minimum eg.
"  Bollard against falls close to the
3 m rule between forklifts and people
actual dock area 19&
 Risk Controls – Loading / unloading

Prevention of Falls from Trucks

Many causes and many solutions:

"  Solutions worth more detailed discussion

"  Eliminate working at height

"  Engineer ways to work safely from the

ground or at height

"  PPE and administrative controls

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 Risk Controls – Loading / unloading

Communications and
Coordination

Load tasks requiring

coordination between people
are a concern

"  Understand the process

"  Simplify it

"  Minimise the people involved

in any task

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Risk Controls – Loading / unloading

Take 5 A basic safety method

Transport safety needs a Take 2 philosophy.

"  Things are rarely the same or constant in

the logistics environment

"  What is different about today?

"  Take 5….. Take whatever it takes to:

"  Stop
"  Look
"  Plan
"  Do

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 In Summary
Summary
Remember the WHS legislative
requirements
"  “Provide a safe place of work”
"  Look at the exposed hazards
(energy) in a load/unload
environment
"  Put in controls
"  Start quickly with simple controls
"  But move rapidly towards controls
further up the Hierarchy of Control
Key Risks
"  Interactions with mobile equipment
(forklift / cranes)
"  Product falling off vehicles / tynes
during loading
"  People Falling off trucks
Principal Controls
"  Exclusion Zones (LUEZ)
"  3 Metre rule for forklift /pedestrians
"  Traffic Management
"  Eliminate working on trailers
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