8.6 Safe Movement of People and Vehicles in the Workplace

Hazards to pedestrians

The most common hazards to pedestrians at work are being struck by moving, flying or falling objects, colliding with moving vehicles, and striking against fixed or stationary objects.

• Being struck by moving, falling or flying objects. Moving objects include moving articles, moving parts of machinery and conveyor belt systems. Flying objects are often made by the disintegration of a moving part or the failure of a system under pressure. Falling objects are a major problem in many workplaces, such as construction (objects falling from height, or a dropped tool from scaffolding) and warehouses (pallets stacked carelessly on racking). The head is particularly vulnerable to these hazards.
• Collisions with moving vehicles. These can happen inside the premises or on the access roads around the building. The risk is greatest where pedestrians and vehicles are not separated, or where vehicles speed. Poor lighting, blind corners, missing warning signs and missing barriers at crossing points also raise the risk.
• Striking against fixed or stationary objects. A person is hurt by colliding with a fixed part of the building structure, work in progress, part of a machine or a stationary vehicle, or by falling towards such objects. Causes include poor or unstable stacking, protruding scaffolding, rods or timbers, and items waiting to be removed or stored. These hazards are made worse by poor visibility from poor lighting, blind corners and doors, or by machinery noise masking the warning sounds of oncoming vehicles. The head seems the most vulnerable part of the body, and the hazard is regularly caused by misjudging the height of an obstacle.

Hazards from workplace transport operations

Workplace transport brings a range of hazards, which fall into two groups.

Movement-related hazards

• carelessness of the driver, for example driving too fast, especially round bends
• reversing without an assessed safe arrangement, particularly where people and vehicles can conflict
• silent operation of machinery
• blind spots, such as at corners and entrances
• site infrastructure that restricts free vehicle movement
• poor visibility, for example around loads
• a lack of warning signals or direction signs, especially when reversing or changing direction
• poor design of pedestrian walkways and crossing points
• mechanical failure
• overturning of vehicles
• collisions with other vehicles, pedestrians and fixed objects
• environmental factors such as poor lighting and rain

Non-movement-related hazards

• loading and unloading: falling objects, loads that shift during travel and become unstable while unloading, work at height and manual handling
• securing and sheeting loads: manual handling and work at height
• coupling and uncoupling: hitting, crushing and running over
• vehicle maintenance work

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