Safe use of forklifts in the construction industry

3 April 2017

Muddy, rutted access routes, and tradesmen milling around, are just some of the challenges facing the forklift operator on a construction site. How does the health and safety professional reduce the risks and improve safety? Gay Sutton reports.

The construction industry is one of the most hazardous environments in which to work, and forklift drivers can find themselves under huge pressure. Their sole purpose in life can seem to be keeping all the other trades going. Bricklayers may need mortar top-ups over here, drain layers may need more pipes over there.

In addition to this, the construction environment presents the health and safety professional with a series of unique materials handling challenges. The destination for materials is continuously changing as the build progresses, the site is vulnerable to wind, rain and mud, and tradespeople are moving around continuously, many of them not employed by the principal contractor.

Thorough planning is key

Planning for materials handling safety begins at the very inception of a project. One effective way to do this, according to Paul Haxell, Chair of the IOSH (Institution of Occupational Safety and Health) Construction Group, is to translate the construction programme into a series of coloured layout drawings indicating the areas of construction activity, stage by stage.

From this, the most appropriate material storage areas can be identified for each stage of the build. Haxell said: “Using these visual aids you can see the traffic routes starting to emerge between the work areas and material storage areas, and how these are likely to evolve with time.

“I liken this to a business model: you develop a strategic plan, then you come down into increasing detail with a tactical plan for traffic management, and materials delivery and handling“

Haxell continued.

Leading construction company Skanska uses a technique called collaborative planning on all projects, and a key element of this is logistics. Once the construction programme has been developed, contractor and supply chain teams from across the project meet together to work through the plan.

Full article can be found at eurekapub.eu

Image:
Safety Standards
Safety Standards
Image:
Santé et sécurité
Santé et sécurité