Element 3 Movement of People and vehicles – Hazards and Control
This Element of the NCC1 over how to recognise and control hazards associated with the movement of vehicles and people around a construction site.
Movement of People
One of the hazards that is associated with the movement of people, is falls and can be caused by trips on uneven surfaces or trips from cables , kerbs, no guard rails on scaffolding or missing / displaced covers over holes along with the human factors of not paying attention, being distracted etc. Provision of proper access and egress from work station, provision of dedicated walkways or routes and good housekeeping can help avoid these.
Person being struck by objects can be avoided, again if good housekeeping philosophy is in place along with the correct prevention methods for scaffolding (toe boards, brick screens, nets etc,) storage of material in safe place with correct stacking can also help avoid accidents.
A good general site control strategy for the site is required segregating the movement of people and vehicles.
Movement of Vehicles
The major hazards provided by vehicles on a construction site include, speeding, tipping or toppling over, collisions, which in turn may be caused by having poor roads, bad site lighting and signage, poor maintenance of vehicles and untrained operatives.
Suggested control measures include a risk assessment covering the purchase, maintenance and use of site vehicles. A strict traffic management regime which includes speed limit , correctly signed, designated areas for loading and unloading, the use of correctly marked parking areas and encourage people to reverse park.
Keeping of a site accident log and publication of the stats can help raise awareness of traffic movement dangers, correct and adequate selection criteria of driver based on competence to carry out the tasks etc.
Site vehicles such as dumper truck are one of the main contributing vehicles to site accident often caused by untrained drivers (accidental use of controls), driving too close to edge of excavations. Travelling with high lift skip raised, or driver thrown when travelling over rough ground
The law requires that hirers and users of site dumpers both have legal duties to ensure that the equipment should be in a safe condition at all times and the risks are assessed and a safe system of work in place which driver are required to follow , all site workers should be aware of the SSW and follow them
Driver protection for site dumpers include rollover bars, seatbelts
Site management requires that all vehicles are maintained in accordance with the manufacturer's instructions, site rules which detail the hazards and their control measures. Security of site vehicles when not in use (immobilised)
Driver daily checks and safe driving practices.
Read the instruction manuals. Understand the difference in braking response of laden and un-laden vehicles, wear appropriate PPE i.e. goggles ear defenders against noise high visibility jackets, keep to designated routes, care when approaching excavations on slopes or embankments, load only at ground level and never travel with a raised load, use correct towing pins and stop and apply park brake before tipping loads.
Drivers should never carry passengers, operate the dumper controls unless seated, drive with raised skip, and operate with tyre pressures outside manufactures specifications.
Some applicable legislation
The New Roads and Streets Works Act (NRSWA) 1991
Code of practice
Safety at Street works and Roadwork's
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