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Queensland to see 2020 on-site vehicle safety blitz

Trucks, forklifts and other vehicles impact on pedestrian in crosshairs

 

The movement of vehicles around work sites and their interaction with pedestrians in Queensland are to be the focus of the state’s safety watchdog next year.

On-site traffic management (OSTM) is viewed as a significant safety issue across all types of industries, with concern that if OSTM risks are not properly managed, pedestrians may be seriously injured or killed.

“A Workplace Health and Safety Queensland [WHSQ] audit campaign will target high risk work environments in early 2020, including sites where complex or unpredictable movements between trucks, mobile plant, cars, utes, forklifts and pedestrians often occur,” the organisation states.

“Inspectors will visit workplaces to talk to people with overall control of the site to look at how these risks are being managed.”


Read about WHSQ’s concerns about truck tyre inflation, here


While freight-related vehicles are mentioned, WHSQ gives special mention to mobile plant.

“Mobile plant operators will have their high-risk work licences inspected and there will be checks on whether mobile plant is properly maintained,” it says.

“Inspectors will want to see how workers are informed, what kind of communication the person in control has with others on-site and what information is provided to external organisations which have vehicles or staff visit the site.”

Inspectors will also look at what is in place to eliminate or reduce the risk of pedestrians being hit, and whether the measures are effective.

Examples given include, does the site have or use:

  • barriers physically separating pedestrian routes, such as separate entries and exits for vehicles
  • dedicated areas for loading and unloading away from people
  • physical isolation or separation by distance and/or guardrails or fences
  • wide traffic routes so that vehicles or plant do not encroach on pedestrian areas
  • barriers, fences or exclusion zones isolating workers or pedestrians from roads
  • administrative controls, such as speed limits, driver directions (stop, give way, no entry, caution).

A WHSQ on-site traffic management self-assessment tool in preparation for an inspection can be found here

More tailored assistance from WHSQ advisors can be accessed here.

 

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