25th September / Adam Payton

Loading/Unloading
Loading/Unloading
How we used to do it…!

High risk activity, all common practice with little or no controls in place…

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Loading/Unloading
A joint venture with Bluescope Steel…

The journey started…

reviewing our activities in the UK and in Europe;
• Exclusion zones

• Hauliers/Contractors

• Mobile Plant
• Height Safety

• Load Restraint

• Human Factors

• Delivery Plans

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Loading/Unloading
Key Steps – Creation
• Output - Produced guidance
• Includes key steps to Un/loading safely
• Induction
• PPE
• Falling from Trucks
• Exclusion Zones
• Personal Risk Assessment
• Planning
• Large Goods Vehicles
• Mobile Plant
• Load Restraint
• Loading Teams
• Communication
• Can’t See, Can’t Work
• Pictorial, easy to understand instructions
• Includes case studies of previous
incidents

• Backed up by specific guidance

• Exclusion Zones and more in depth
specific case studies and examples

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Loading/Unloading
Key Steps – Exclusion Zones

• The Red Zones

• The place where no person should
be during the loading/Unloading
process

• The Amber zones

• The place where there is still some
risk to persons, dependant on the
product being loaded or unloaded.
For example: beams are different to
coil therefore if they fall from a crane
or forklift they may not take the same
flight path.

• The Green zone

• The place where any person
involved in the loading or unloading
process is ‘Safe’ from harm.

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Loading/Unloading
Key Steps – Exclusion Zones

• The Red Zones

• The place where no person should
be during the loading/Unloading
process
• Think about the consequences of
Human error or Mechanical failure…
• What are the worst consequences?

The human error…

No person plans to make mistakes,
it’s just something human beings
do!

The mechanical failure…

No matter how well serviced or
maintained equipment is…
It can fail at anytime…
It should should never be relied
upon…

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Loading/Unloading
Key Steps – Exclusion Zones

• The Amber Zones

• The place where there is still some
risk to persons, dependant on the
product being loaded or unloaded.
For example: beams are different to
coil therefore if they fall from a crane
or forklift they may not take the same
flight path.
• Think about the consequences of
dropping the load from a crane or
forklift truck
• Think about the consequences if a
load has to be repositioned or altered
part way through…

Your amber zones may well overflow

into your safe zone if the safe zone is
close to the truck!

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Loading/Unloading
Key Steps – Exclusion Zones

• The Green Zones

• The place where any person
involved in the loading or unloading
process is ‘Safe’ from harm.
• The safe zone for any driver is a
place where…should any human
error or mechanical failure occur…
cannot be harmed…
• But remember… the driver still
wants/needs to be able to see his
truck….after all, the truck is his place
of work and he must care for it. He
wants to check that we do not
damage it.
• The safe zone is also close enough
so that the loader and the driver can
have a conversation if the load has
to be modified in anyway.

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Loading/Unloading
Key Steps – Safety Zones

Different look, same principle…

Examples of safe zones

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Loading/Unloading
Key Steps – Exclusion Zone, Barriers
Any exclusion is enhanced with barriers…

Better still…segregate processes and people

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Loading/Unloading
Other applications of exclusion zone principles

Forklift Truck Exclusion Zone Red Zones

Dangerous area.
Stay a minimum
of 2 Meters Away,
may be even
Amber Zone-
Red Zone- Reduced
greater
2 Meter Distance as a visibility for depending on the
minimum around a forklift a forklift product
truck truck driver
Amber Zones
Extra caution in
these areas. The
forklift truck driver
might not see you

Green Zones
Safe areas. The
Green Zone- forklift truck driver
A safe area away from a
forklift truck
can see you and
you can see
them.

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Loading/Unloading
Other applications of exclusion zone principles

Crane Exclusion Zone Red Zones

Dangerous area.
Stay a minimum
of 2 Meters Away,
may be even
greater
depending on the
Amber Zone-
Increased product
hazard zone,
extra caution Amber Zones
here Extra caution in
these areas. The
risks increase in
these areas,
extra precautions
Red Zone-
must be taken
2 Meter Distance as a
minimum around a Green Zones
load on a crane
Safe areas. The
Green Zone- green areas are a
A safe area away from a
Crane with a Load
safe haven for all
in the event of
something going
wrong
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Loading/Unloading
Exclusion Zone Summary

•An exclusion zone is a dynamic control as a result of a

thorough risk assessment of loading and unloading
activities
•Green zones are the safe place
•Red zones are the places where, if something goes
wrong, people are harmed

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