Eliminating risks when loading and unloading can be difficult in trucking and stopping those stupid things we do can be hard. Safety issues emerge every day for an operator and minimising those problems is a constant battle
As the result of an enforcement understanding directive, following one particular incident, Followmont Transport has done the research, changed operational practice, and made a video about it.
Hopefully the work this Queensland operator has put in will help to reduce the number of incidents and go a long way towards stopping those stupid thing that we do.
“As part of our commitment to continuous improvement and always looking for a better, more efficient, and safer way to conduct our business, Followmont have invested in the development and trialling of an innovative system of control,” said a Followmont statement.
“A collaboration of teams, Safety, L&D and the Brisbane Workshop have been working on a potential improvement to the design and function of the standard trailer gate, by engineering a strap guide onto the gates roller system.
“This short video discusses some of the hazards and challenges faced in the general freight industry.”
“An investigation into the event identified a practice that had been adopted by some linehaul drivers, the method involved physically holding up restraining straps in one hand whilst operating a forklift to move freight on the deck of the trailer was discovered. A communication to all workers was immediately enacted, prohibiting this behaviour due to the risk of entanglement,” Followmont explained.
“In addition to Followmont’s regular forms of consultation such as weekly driver debrief, quarterly meetings, health and safety committee meetings and the annual staff survey, the company felt there was a need to seek more input from their linehaul drivers. To understand more about uplifting, load restraints and issues when working alone at night on linehaul trips, Followmont Transport conducted a learning team with a group of linehaul drivers. A learning team provides an opportunity to bring together workers to explore and understand how work is done, what makes work successful and what can go wrong and how.”
