Recently in Health & Safety Category

Ola! 'Biglorryblog's Man in Spain' John Ormandy has sent me this...I can just about make out what's happening through the gaps in my fingers that are covering my eyes!  "Hi Brian," says John, "Imagine my mild surprise when I opened the hotel bedroom curtains and saw this.... Luckily, it's OK, as Spain hasn't signed up to the EU Health 'n' Safety division, just the Subsidy & Benefits division! John--now enjoying the EU money I paid in earlier, thanks to Tony & Gordon...".Let's hope he's applied the hand-brake John! Of course the real question is what on earth is he doing...?  And someone should tell him that's NOT what a 'ladder-rack' is used for...

Not, as you might be thinking, the resul;t of an almighty crash but a clever bit of improvisation when you haven't got a big enough crane...This comes to me via the excellent Australian Trucking Association's weekly 'Friday Fact's e-mail which always includes an nice bit of trucking history to finish with and this week is no exception. This week's archive photo comes from a February 1949 edition of Truck & Bus Transportation showing how far the industry has come in terms of safety! Now click through here for what it's all about.

Regular Biglorryblog readers will already recognise this as the recently-lanched Royal Mail Safety Concept Vehicle - an artic with more safety kit on it than you can shake a risk assessment form at with no less than 55 (count 'em) safety-related items on the Daf CF85.410 and Cartwright double-deck trailer rig.

Amongst them is this ground level susie connecting system (similar to the original MAVIS concept) and decent steps to get into the back of the Cartwright double decker...

Well word now reaches that Biglorryblog that it's just won  the EuroTra Safety and Innovation Award, handed out every year in collaboration with Volvo Trucks, (And BLB reckons that the fact that it's gone to a vehicle that's not pulled by a Volvo shows some real style on behalf of the Swedish truck maker). Meanwhile, the EuroTra (European Transport Training Association) selects the company that has made the greatest efforts to increase traffic safety and to improve the driver's working environment--and this year that company is Royal Mail Network. So congrats all around and click through here for more...

Considering how many people fall off a lorry every year, you'd think that truck operators companies would do more tor prevent their drivers becoming fall guys. Well one operator is doing something about it. Balfour Beatty Utility Solutions (BBUS) www.bbusl.com, the leading UK utility solutions provider, working in close association with Balfour Beatty Plant & Fleet Services (BBP&FS) www.bbbol.com and a number of other partners, has made further safety modifications to its 26,000kg tipper lorry loader fleet to reduce the risk of working at height on the vehicle;

By monitoring trends of near misses and claims for injuries sustained on the existing tipper lorry loader fleet BBUS recognised four issues which have now been designed out and will become standard specifications for the industry;

• Load area access - fold away steps and easy grip handles wagon (High visibility yellow)
• Cab access - easy grip handles and steps (High visibility yellow)
• Pneumatic Compaction Plant lift and secure storage system- lowers platform for easy loading and locks for secure storage (High visibility yellow)
• On-board load weighing system - first of its type using weight cells on a tipper body to monitor weight at all times (accurate to within +/- 5%). Fitted with an alarm once maximum load is reached and provides data using the Celtrack tracking system.

BBUS Head of Plant and Transport Steve Jackson, tells Biglorryblog: ""This has been an excellent partnership project to improve our HGV tipper lorry loader fleet, especially as they will now become an industry standard. Working with the BBUS Health and Safety team we identified recurring issues on the vehicle and decided to challenge our fleet suppliers to design out the risk."

Steve adds: "Even though some of the improvements have been quite straightforward, they will make a major difference to the operations teams working practises and safety records. We have ordered forty-four new, tipper lorry loader's giving our operational teams a much improved fleet for working at height." (neat inside body step....too) now click through here for more 

You may be wondering why BLB himself is wobbling along on a bicycle, suicidally close to an Alan Firmin artic. All will be revealed in Commercial Motor's exclusive practical test of safety mirrors, which you can read on 24 July.

Next time, he tries it without the stabilisers!

Now for all you 'Safety Elfins' watching, this is how to do it. The driver just finishing loading this smart new Scania P380LB 8x2 rigid with an Andover Trailer's plant body has obviously 'been on the course.' It's there for all to see, high-vis vest, gloves, hard hat, proper ratchet straps in good order (and I'm sure he's wearing safety boots too). And naturally that's what you'd expect from a company like Fife-based Muir Construction, one of Scotland's largest privately-owned construction companies, which has taken delivery of the aforementioned Scania which will be used for transporting the company's specialist heavy plant.

Now contrast that with this picture of another Krazy Kroozer beginning with a K (It's a Karpetan) which a BLB reader has kindly sent in which features this daffy 'Dolly Bird' standing up under the raised without a body prop (i.e. on the tipper, not her...err..obviously)....it's enough to have Elfin Safety flip his little pointy hat with a bell on it! Meanwhile, click through here for another picture of the new Muir Scania and read all about what they think of it.

If you are going to crash your BL Mini into the front of a Ford D-Series, then make sure it's got a front underrun bar. If not, we don't fancy your chances of walking away.

The photographs were taken at the Transport Research Laboratory in the 1980s.

"Hmmm...well I'm stuck in this RDC queue for the next three months..I wonder what's on the telly? I know it's Richard and Judy!" In this brave new world or Corporate Manslaughter, Corporate Governance, Health & Safety, risk assessment, accident management (tick one from column A and one from column B) Biglorryblog increasingly receives press releases announcing the fitment of various bits of H&S kit. And so it is with Meachers Group, an operator who, I'm told is:" Renowned for being at the forefront of embracing the latest health & safety technology." And who is BLB to disagree especially as it's just invested in reversing cameras for the company’s extensive fleet of tractors and trailers. The reversing cameras will be fitted to all Meachers fleet at its sites in Southampton and Derby.

Given the risk of injury and even death from reversing trucks this makes sounds sense to me.
The back-up cameras come courtesy of Autosonics with Meachers speccing the "state-of-the-art CAM4000 back view reversing LED camera system in conjunction with a 5.6” TFT LCD colour monitor and sound facility with volume control so that the driver can hear if someone outside the cab shouts a warning when he is reversing. Shock resistant, the camera can operate in temperatures ranging from -10C to +50C and is waterproof rated to IP67."

Why cameras? Click through here to read the thoughts of Meachers director Richard Lambourne, the man with the H&S responsibility for the company.