Safety Inspector Near Miss at Customer Site
What Happened:
On 5th December 2013 during extremely high winds at Scunthorpe Rodmill live load area, whilst checking a recent arrivals straps for compliance a Safety Inspector was involved in a near miss. The Safety Inspector was standing at the rear of the trailer with the right side rear door open and secured back using the trailer ‘s dedicated retaining arm. This was observed by other team members.
As he was completing the task the right side door suddenly swung rearwards and impacted at force with the Safety Inspectors left side. He was taken aback but did not report any injury at the time and continued his shift as normal. He did however report stiffness on the following Monday and attended the local hospital for x-rays as his left arm was very stiff.
The Safety Inspector was wearing the correct PPE and following current SWP.
Findings:
- The trailer door spring loaded retaining arm whilst adequate restraint during normal operations was unable to keep the door open whilst experiencing buffeting from high winds. This caused excessive in/out movement of the arm.
- The spring loaded retaining arm had not been identified as a potential hazard during the risk assessment.
- No agreed policy on Adverse Weather working in place between local contractors.
Recommendations:
- Agree on Adverse Weather working policy between local contractors.
- In Adverse Weather ALL preparations to be completed inside warehouse where applicable.
- Review relevant RA and SWP’s where requirement to open rear doors is applicable.
- Produce tool to assist holding door in place if access to warehouse not possible.
