Safety Newsletter 2014 03
Are you attached to your trailer?
Drivers may love their tractor units but are they as attached to their trailers?? More importantly, are they physically attached to the trailer? We have had two recent incidents of ‘lost’ trailers where drivers have driven off and the trailer has come loose off the 5th wheel.
Remember to:
o Engage 5th wheel jaws
o Snatch test by driving forward to ensure 5th wheel jaws are locked
o Visually check to see 5th wheel jaws have engaged
o Confirm release handle is in correct position
o Fit security clip
Say No, Ask to Restow....
An old message but still completely relevant is encouraging Drivers to say No if they are not happy with how their load has been configured.
This is fully supported by P&O – a Driver must be happy with the way the load is configured and placed on the trailer both in terms of load security and weight distribution.
HSE – Worker breaks leg in lorry fall
Quotation taken from the HSE Website:
“A Suffolk logistics firm has been fined for safety failings after a lorry driver fell from a flat bed trailer. The worker broke his hip in 3 places and needed 2 steel pins inserted to help repair the damage. He had been asked to cover and secure the load to his flat bed trailer with a protective sheet but as he walked along the edge of the trailer to pull the sheet across, he slipped and fell 1.5 meters to the ground”.
The driver was off work for 6 months.
A reminder to us all Working at Height is to be avoided wherever possible. Use of fall protection must be used if there is no alternative to working at height.
Dropped trailer standards and House Keeping
Although standards have improved dramatically, we do still get some trailers left in an unacceptable state which causes more work and time left to other staff to prepare a trailer for loading. Please ensure trailers are left clean and in the correct manner as per the individual site requirements.
Drivers are also reminded that when clearing any rubbish from their trailer that they are to use the skips provided on site.
