The construction contractor said that the move will help avoid the risk of operators becoming trapped by ‘swing-up’ stabilisers that can inadvertently be rotated and drawn into the area where fixed controls are in position. These actions follow the involvement of this type of stabiliser in a fatal incident at a Skanska UK site at Shirehampton, Bristol in September, 2021.
Vehicles affected by this ban are not widespread across Skanska UK’s sites and projects. In a recent survey, 47 lorry loader-related unloading activities were reviewed and only two operated with the stabiliser being able to be moved across the fixed controls. Vehicles affected by the ban are predominantly those delivering bulky items such as cabins and welfare units.
Skanska UK has worked closely with the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), the Association of Lorry Loaders Manufacturers and Importers (ALLMI) and directly with manufacturers to highlight the risk to operators of being crushed by this type of stabiliser.
ALLMI has now issued new instructions to all manufacturers and training companies to provide additional information in their training materials to highlight the risk of inadvertent operation resulting in the operator being struck by the stabiliser when using this type of equipment. This new guidance note supersedes the ALLMI Safety Alert on swing-up stabilisers released in October last year.
However, in a letter signed by chairman Alan Johnson, ALLMI said it did not approve of an outright ban. “It remains our view that an industry-wide ‘one-speed’ approach is much preferable to individual site bans, wholly encompassing the lorry loader sector with the comprehensive dissemination of control measure knowledge. Previously experienced policies along similar lines have led to widespread cynicism in the lorry loader community when selective adherence on site has resulted from commercial pressures.”
It reads: “Whilst not clear from Skanska’s document on this matter, it has been confirmed that the ban includes the use of lorry loaders with remotes where the leg rotates across fixed controls, and in this situation ‘fixed controls’ includes emergency levers or equipment on which the standard levers have been removed.
“Our main concern is that Skanska has included in its ban all cranes where the stabilisers are normally operated by radio remote control, but which have ancillary control levers for use only in the event of the need to recover/stow the stabilisers under an emergency scenario (e.g. loss of power to the remote control), and where the stabiliser rotates across the position of these controls. The inclusion of this type of equipment within the ban significantly increases the number affected, far above the ‘2 out of 47’ figure mentioned in Skanska’s document. For example, one of our larger Operators’ Forum members has effectively gone from having no vehicles included in the ban, to almost all of their fleet. This includes new vehicles where the builds were interrupted to specifically remove the fixed lever operating stations in direct response to the original safety alerts issued in October 2021.”
“Furthermore, we feel that, given the unlikely scenario of needing to use emergency levers (which would require failure of both the radio control and the back-up umbilical cord), and given the other control measures that could be put in place, to include this equipment in the ban constitutes a disproportionate response, and one which has the potential to cause irrevocable damage to the UK lorry loader industry.”
Johnson adds: “During the ALLMI Technical Standards Committee meeting held on 20th April 2022, those present unanimously expressed the opinion that the use of hold to run controls was an adequate control measure for the retraction of swing-up stabilisers, and that such machines were compliant with EN 12999. As such, the view is taken that the fatality was a tragic accident, rather than a fundamental design flaw with the machinery.”
Instead of a ban, ALLMI proposes a revision to EN 12999, development of retrospective fixes, continuing user safety campaigns and training courses, reducing the risk by restricting site access, greater site supervision and discussion during site induction.