For decades, the loading bay was an afterthought in warehouse safety planning. Floor markings were painted and an induction video was created but in reality, the majority of injuries occur in a small area of the warehouse, just ten meters square at the back of the distribution building where the road logistics are brought into the warehouse to be packed into boxes and crates for distribution. The workplace transport accidents recorded by the HSE show that vehicle-pedestrian collisions occur in a very specific area – the aperture where the road logistics meet the warehouse operations, briefly and in a chaotic manner.
When analysing why the threshold of 10m has consistently been a focal point for vehicle-pedestrian accidents in warehouse distribution centres around the world it becomes apparent that the primary cause is the peculiar nature of the aperture itself. A vehicle travelling down a road or through a warehouse is a very obvious item, filled with kinetic energy and drawing attention to itself. However an HGV Trailer slowly entering a bay is of a completely different nature to a counterbalance truck travelling at speed in the warehouse. It may appear to be travelling slowly and appear to have little mass or energy but this is far from the truth. With much greater mass than the average warehouse truck the stopping distance for such an item is significantly greater than similar road going vehicles. Added to this the drivers of such trailers have extremely poor visibility for any activity that takes place at ground level behind or to the side of the Trailer and therefore are unable to be aware of any pedestrian in the area until the very last second. As such the risk of a collision is greatly increased but the obvious nature of the risk is not.
Most floor-marking schemes and training programs for loading bay areas focus on trying to tell pedestrians where it is safe to stand and why it is not safe in other locations. Unfortunately, no matter how many times people are briefed on the area, a reversing trailer will ignore the paint and the words and travel in the wrong location.
A correctly rated physical barrier at the bay aperture removes the decision from the operator. Workplace Safety Barriers designed for the loading bay are rated for the slow, heavy impact of vehicles in dock, as opposed to the faster, lighter impacts elsewhere in the warehouse. Most generic pedestrian barriers are not rated for such impacts.
If you are looking for Workplace Safety Barriers, see //www.emtek.co.uk/safety-barriers/workplace-safety/.
A physical barrier is required at the interface between the warehouse and the road traffic to stop vehicles colliding with pedestrians. These workplace safety barriers are rated for slow, heavy impacts from dock traffic. The correct rated physical barrier will be the most cost effective solution in the long run as opposed to cheaper generic pedestrian barriers.
