Thursday, June 22, 2006

Managing workplace transport risk

HSE have a proposed 'route map' out for consultation. It is important because 70 people were killed in accidents involving workplace transport in 2004/05

The route map is divided into four sections

1. Site layout and design
2. Vehicle selection and maintenance
3. Personnel matters
4. Management responsibilities

As it stands, my feeling is the document is weak and has a number of omissions. I think there is a fundamental problem because the causes of accidents is not made clear, so it not easy to see which of the proposed measures is likely to be most effective.

As with many things, my experience is that management of change is one of the most important elements, and it requires everyone working on a site to be aware of the risks of change. In particular new routes (including temporary and one-off), different vehicles, different activities and change to plant and equipment next to traffic routes can influence the risk.

I have sent some comments to HSE. You can do the same by going to
http://consultations.hse.gov.uk/inovem/consult.ti/wptms

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