Driving a heavy goods vehicle is one of the most dangerous
occupations in Britain, and transportation and warehousing is one
of the most dangerous industry sectors. For many otherwise low-risk
companies, loading and unloading goods is their most dangerous work
activity. Every year around ten people are killed and thousands
injured as a result of poor loading, both in the workplace and on
the road. The disruption and congestion caused by load spills and
vehicle rollover is a significant cost to the national economy.
HSL's specialist engineers have investigated load security
incidents over many years and generated in-depth knowledge about
the causes and how to prevent them. What's more, transferring
know-how is HSL's speciality. So when enforcement bodies, working
with industry, developed a national intervention to reduce
load-security accidents, HSL was called in to help. The Health and
Safety Executive (HSE) is leading the joint intervention with the
Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (VOSA), the Metropolitan
Police, and other police forces and agencies to reduce fatalities
and injuries linked to poor load securing and to encourage industry
take-up of more efficient working practices.
HSL's initial research for HSE quickly identified that serious
problems were endemic in the British haulage industry as a whole.
HSL then worked closely with HSE, VOSA and industry associations
(such as the Freight Transport Association, Road Haulage
Association, Confederation of Paper Industries and the British
Constructional Steel Association) to identify further areas of
concern for research and identify topics where industry knowledge
was lacking. HSL ran a series of pilot studies across the UK to
identify high-risk vehicle and load types and used that information
to develop a risk-based enforcement approach. This new approach,
which was introduced by VOSA in April 2012, improves the
consistency of enforcement decisions and simplifies the process for
vehicle operators. HSL additionally helped to develop a
comprehensive training package for enforcement authorities.
In parallel, HSL worked directly with industry organisations to
develop advice for vehicle operators and drivers to help them
improve the safety and efficiency of their operations. HSL's guides
are designed to ensure that key safety measures are as clear as
possible: 'Transport Safety - An operator's guide
to safe loading and transport' and 'Load safe road
safe - a professional driver's guide to safe loading and
transport'. HSL has also launched a smartphone app 'STRapp'
to help operators calculate the right number of straps needed to
safely secure their load. See /hsl-shop for details. HSL's
published research reports for HSE are available free of charge and
examples on load security are given below. For full details see HSL publications by year