A UK company has been fined £425,000 after a warehouse supervisor suffered fatal injuries following a fall from a mobile loading ramp during a container loading operation.
The supervisor was assisting with the loading of plastic waste bales into a shipping container. As he accessed the mobile loading ramp, a plastic bale slipped from the forklift truck being used to load the container which caused him to step backwards and he fell approximately 1.5 metres onto the concrete surface below, sustaining fatal injuries.
An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that the company had failed to adequately assess the risks associated with the loading operation. It also failed to control the risks arising from pedestrians using mobile loading ramps.
The investigation found that that employees were permitted to access the ramps without handrails, through the ramp manufacturer had specifically advised that pedestrians should not use it unless handrails were fitted.
HSE also found that the company had not sufficiently considered reasonably practicable alternatives that would have avoided work at height altogether, including using existing loading bays or placing containers on the ground before loading.
Best practice for reducing risk
Every year, approximately 1,300 people suffer serious injuries in forklift-related accidents, highlighting the importance of effective workplace safety measures wherever lift trucks are in operation.
For any new activities, the HSE emphasised that employers must ensure those risks are identified and controlled before work begins.
Safe Systems of Work based on thorough risk assessments ensure that operators and pedestrians understand how tasks should be completed safely. These procedures help reduce the risk of accidents by defining safe working practices and maintaining appropriate separation between forklift trucks and pedestrians.
Wherever practical, physical segregation, e.g. barriers or dedicated walkways should be used to separate vehicles from people. In areas where complete segregation isn’t possible, additional control measures must be introduced to minimise interaction and protect everyone working in shared spaces.
To read the full HSE report on this incident, click here.