HSE Workplace Transport Checklist

1. 1. Are site rules documented and distributed?

2. 2. Are your supervisors, drivers, and others, including contractors, and visiting drivers, aware of the site rules? Are they aware of their responsibilities in terms of helping to maintain a safe workplace and environment?

3. 3. Has a risk assessment been completed for all workplace transport hazards?

4. 4. Is the level of supervision sufficient to ensure that safe standards are maintained?

5. 5. Are sanctions applied when employees, contractors, etc fail to maintain these standards?

6. 6. Are adequate steps taken to detect unsafe behavior of drivers of both site and visiting vehicles as well as pedestrians? Are the underlying reasons investigated to correct unsafe behaviors?

7. 7. Is there good cooperation and liaison on health and safety matters between your staff and those who collect or deliver goods?

1. 1. Do drivers drive with care, eg. use the correct routers, drive within the speed limit and follow any other site rules?

2. 2. Do your drivers and other employees have enough time to complete their work without rushing or working excessive hours? Do you monitor “job and finish” work to ensure drivers are not rushing to cut corners?

3. 3. Are your employees using safe work practices e.g. when (un)coupling, (un)loading, securing loads, carrying out maintenance, etc?

4. 4. Do managers and supervisors routinely challenge and investigate unsafe behaviors they may come across?

5. 5. Do managers and supervisors set a good example, for instance by obeying vehicle/ pedestrian segregation instructions, and by wearing high visibility garments where these are needed?

1. 1. Are the roads and footways suitable for the types and volumes of vehicular traffic and pedestrian traffic using them?

2. 2. Are vehicles and pedestrians kept safely apart?

3. 3. Where necessary, are there suitable pedestrian crossing places on vehicle routes?

4. 4. Is there a safe pedestrian route that allows visiting drivers to report for instructions when entering the site?

5. 5. Are there adequate numbers of suitable parking places for all vehicles and are they used?

6. 6. Is there a properly designed and signed one-way system used on vehicle routes within the workplace?

7. 7. Is the level of lighting in each area sufficient for pedestrian and vehicle activity?

1. 1. Are they wide enough?

2. 2. Do they have firm and even surfaces?

3. 3. Are they free from obstructions and other hazards?

4. 4. Are they well maintained?

5. 5. Do vehicle routes avoid sharp or blind blends?

1. 1. Are roadways marked where necessary, e.g. to indicate the right way at road junctions?

2. 2. Are road signs, as used in the Highway Code, installed where necessary?

3. 3. Are features such as fixed mirrors (to provide greater vision at blind bends, road humps (to reduce vehicle speeds), or barriers (to keep vehicles and pedestrians apart) provided where necessary?

1. 1. Have suitable vehicles and attachments been selected for the tasks which are actually undertaken?

2. 2. Do vehicles have good direct visibility or devices for improving vision where reversing can’t be eliminated and where significant risk still remains e.g. external and side mirrors; vision aids such as CCTV; sensing device?

3. 3. Are they provided with horns, lights, reflectors, reversing lights, and other safety features as necessary?

4. 4. Do they have effective service and parking brakes?

5. 5. Do they have seats and seatbelts where necessary?

6. 6. Are there guards to prevent access to dangerous parts of the vehicles, e.g. power take-offs, chain drives, exposed exhaust pipes?

7. 7. Do drivers have protection against bad weather conditions, or against an unpleasant working environment, i.e. the cold, dirt, dust, fumes and excessive noise and vibration?

8. 8. Is there a safe means of access to and from the cabs and other parts that need to be reached?

9. 9. Are surfaces, where people walk on vehicles, sip resistant?

10. 10. Is driver protection against injury in the event of an overturn, and are measures in place to prevent the driver being hit by falling objects, provided where necessary?

11. 11. Are operators involved or consulted on vehicle selection?

1. 1. Is there a regular preventative maintenance programme for every vehicle, carried out at predetermined intervals of time or mileage (e.g. in accordance with manufacturers instructions)?

2. 2. Is there a system for reporting faults on the vehicle and associated equipment and carrying out remedial work?

3. 3. Where vehicle attachments lift people or objects, are thorough examinations undertaken by a competent person (e.g. your insurance company)?

4. 4. Do the drivers carry our basic safety checks before using the vehicle?

1. 1. Have drivethroughs, and one-way systems been used, wherever possible to reduce the need for reversing?

2. 2. Where reversing areas are needed, are they marked to be clear to both drivers and pedestrians?

3. 3. Are non-essential personnel excluded from areas where reversing occurs?

4. 4. If the risk assessment shows site controls cannot be improved further and you need a banksman to direct-reversing vehicles, are they adequately trained and visible?

1. 1. Are loading/unloading operations carried out in an area away from passing traffic, pedestrians, and others not involved in the loading/unloading operation?

2. 2. Are the load(s), the delivery vehicle(s), and the handling vehicle(s) compatible with each other?

3. 3. Are loading/unloading activities carried out on the ground that is flat, firm, and tree from potholes?

4. 4. Are parking brakes always used on trailers and tractive units to prevent unwanted movement, e.g. when coupling vehicles?

5. 5. Are the vehicles braked and/or stabilized, as appropriate, to prevent unsafe movements during loading and unloading operations?

6. 6. Are systems in place to prevent trucks from driving away while they are still being (un)loaded?

7. 7. Are lorry drivers and others kept in a safe place away from the vehicle while (un)loading is carried out?

8. 8. Is there a safe area marked where drivers can observe loading (if necessary)?

9. 9. Has the need for people to go on to the load area of the vehicle been eliminated where possible and if not is safe access provided and used?

10. 10. Is appropriate lilting equipment available for (un)loading vehicles?

11. 11. Is loading / unloading carried out so that, as far as possible, the load is spread evenly to avoid the vehicle or trailer becoming unstable?

12. 12. Are checks made to ensure the load is adequately secured in line with the Department for Transport Code of Practice and not loaded beyond their capacity before the vehicle leaves the site?

1. 1. Do drivers possess the necessary licenses or certificates for the vehicles they are authorised to drive e.g. FLTs, shunt vehicles, site dumpers, etc?

2. 2. Do you check the previous experience of your drivers and assess them to ensure they are competent?

3. 3. Do you provide site specific training on how to perform the job, and information about particular hazards, speed limits, the appropriate parking and loading areas, etc?

4. 4. Do you have a planned program of refresher training for drivers and others to ensure their continued competence?