Version No:

4

OG status:

Partially open

Author section:

HID CI4B

Issue date:

2009 04 01

Review date

2011 04 01

Target audience

HID Inspectors in CI 1-4 (Bands 0-4) and FOD Inspectors (Bands 0-4)

Purpose

The purpose of this Circular is to assist HID CI 1-4 Inspectors to adopt an appropriate enforcement approach in respect of activities that require access onto the tops of road tankers and tank containers which are used in the petroleum and chemical sectors, that is consistent both within HID and with other HSE Divisions/Directorates as part of HID’s Key Goal 3 work.

This Circular revises the SPC/Tech/General/04(V3) published in May 2004. This version is relevant to tank containers where previous versions have not been.

Background

HSE has long recognised that gaining access to the tops of road tankers and tank containers can be an inherently hazardous activity. It is most frequently carried out to facilitate top loading/unloading or other tasks for example, dipping or sampling the contents of the tank or cleaning operations.

A survey carried out by the Directorate of Science and Technology (DST) of falls from road tankers identified from RIDDOR reports showed that around 10% of the accidents were fatal. The Institute of Petroleum published a review of good practice and reasonably practicable steps to improve the safety of access to the top of road tankers, which included an analysis of fall accidents over a number of years for 10 companies. The petroleum industry estimated 1-2 accidents were caused by falls from road tankers on forecourts annually. There is difficulty in gaining a complete picture of the numbers of accidents because they have been recorded on HSE databases in different ways, for example the falls from loading gantries may not be easily identified. In view of the low level of supervision and control at many delivery locations, it is believed there is likely to be significant under reporting.

Whilst many solutions are well known, steps to reduce or prevent the need to gain access to the top of tankers and tank containers have been slow in being put into practice. The need for fixed loading gantries at locations such as terminals is accepted by some parts of industry, but inspectors continue to identify variable standards of provision. With some notable exceptions, the industry has tended not to provide a high standard of fall protection on vehicles where access to the top is required away from the terminal.

In recent years some sectors have been taking a more proactive enforcement line. For example, the FOD Food Sector agreed with the dairy industry that all operators of milk tankers would introduce handrails on tankers where top access could not be prevented by the end of 1996. The flour milling industry has made a similar commitment for bulk flour road tankers.

Legal position and supporting ACoPs guidance etc

The Work at Height Regulations 2005 apply to all work at height on tankers and tank containers because they apply to all work at height where there is a risk of a fall liable to cause personal injury. They place duties on employers, the self-employed, and any person who controls the work of others (e.g. facilities managers or building owners who may contract others to work at height) to the extent they control the work.

The Regulations require employers to avoid where possible any work at height. Regulation 6 particularly requires that:

6(2): every employer shall ensure that work is not carried out at height where it is reasonably practicable to carry out the work safely otherwise than at height.

If however, work at height cannot be avoided Regulation 6 goes on to say that:

6(3): where work is carried out at height, every employer shall take suitable and sufficient measures to prevent, so far as is reasonably practicable, any person falling a distance liable to cause personal injury.

• There is a simple hierarchy for managing and selecting equipment for work at height: Duty holders must:
  
  1. avoid work at height where they can;
  2. use work equipment or other measures to prevent falls where they cannot avoid working at height; and
  3. where they cannot eliminate the risk of a fall, use work equipment or other measures to minimise the distance and consequences of a fall should one occur.
     
  • What this means in practice is that:
  • Collective protection measures such as gantries or guardrails should be given priority over personal protection measures such as safety harnesses.
  • Where tankers are loaded at fixed gantries, secure fencing is required, where possible, either as part of the gantry or the vehicle.

Another issue that may arise is that of co-operation between all parties involved in the supply chain.

A number of parties may share the duties to secure safe access. For example, the consignor of a load, the tanker or haulage operator, the loading terminal operator and the person in control of the delivery location may all influence the need to gain access. Each of these parties has duties under HSWA section 3; MHSW Regs 3 and 5 and Work at Height Regulations. However, MHSW regulations 11 and 12 may not apply in these circumstances, because the parties may not be considered to share the workplace, temporary or otherwise (reg 11); and secondly, tanker drivers may not be considered to be working in a site employer's undertaking (reg 12); the facts of each case would need to be considered.

Risk assessment

Employers should carry out a risk assessment of all their activities, which involve access to the tops of road tankers and tank containers. This is a requirement of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 as amended. Clearly, each assessment should address the specific conditions applicable to the operation under consideration and inspectors should apply discretion as appropriate. However, the following points should be borne in mind when inspecting a risk assessment.

• Various factors will influence the assessment. It should address:

1. height of the working position;
2. frequency of access;
3. nature of the task;
4. equipment being handled;
5. PPE being worn;
6. exposure of the location, e.g. wind, rain, ice, snow;
7. standards of supervision;
8. experience and training of individual; and
9. operating procedures.
10. where the work is to be done – at home base or away from it.

The assessment should consider co-operation between the tanker operator, those in control of loading and delivery locations and the owner of the product (whose procedures may require top access for dipping or sampling), since all have legal duties. It is acceptable to ask to see a written delivery plan where regular deliveries of a similar nature are made, or to ensure that basic delivery safety information is exchanged where deliveries are made on a last minute and/or one-off basis.

Top access may take place for reasons other than those directly connected with loading/unloading, e.g. sampling, maintenance, cleaning or in an emergency. Even when bottom loading/unloading takes place, top access may still be required to operate valves manually. The assessment should consider these activities.

The ability to carry out all operations at ground level is the most effective approach to ensuring safety. For many operators this will require a long timescale to achieve, involving contractual changes, vehicle modifications and changes to plant at operator and customer premises, see paragraph 22. The outcome of the assessment should include a commitment to change to bottom loading/unloading where reasonably practicable (recognizing that for some products and industry groups, bottom loading is not a feasible option). The assessment should also identify the interim protective measures that will be taken whilst longer-term improvements are being introduced.

Tank containers present particular problems with regard to work at height issues. HSE has worked with the International Tank Containers Organization (ITCO) for a number of years and in 2005 produced a working protocol [302KB] encouraging all those involved in this section of the industry to play their part to eliminate the risk of injury from working at height. Because of specific design issues and difficulties around attaching permanently installed handrails, and for example walkways, a staged implementation plan has been agreed with completion planned for the end of 2013. New tank containers should be fitted with required platforms or walkways. Any tank containers purchased new since 2006 should be fitted with platforms or walkways.

ITCO continue to encourage their member organizations to use the Protocol [302KB]. The approach inspectors should take when discovering issues with tank containers on site, is discussed later.

HSL carried out some research as part of the project and the report, which provides some very useful background to the issues is called Safety of Workers when Accessing the Top of Tank Containers [726KB].

A checklist that may help with risk assessment is called “Site Inspection - Workplace Transport Checklist”. [40.8KB]

Control measures

Bottom loading/unloading

As stated, bottom loading/unloading is preferred but is not suitable for all situations, in particular with tank containers. It should also be recognized that the hoses are likely to remain full at the end of the filling operation. Reliable dry-break couplings are normally installed, but where these are not fitted arrangements need to be made to empty the lines by reverse pumping. A system must also be in place to avoid over pressurisation in case vent connections have not been opened before starting the tanker filling operation.

Where tank containers are carrying dangerous goods there can be no bottom discharge equipment. Over 300 substances require top only tanks.

Gantries and access platforms

If bottom loading is not reasonably practicable, gantries or safe access platforms should be provided at terminal road tanker loading racks and at bulk chemical storage loading/unloading facilities where tanker top access takes place several times a week. Where a tanker is loaded at a fixed gantry, personnel should be protected from falling by secure fencing. Portable staging or ladders are unlikely to be suitable due to their difficulty of use, making operators resistant to using them.

Similarly, where unloading requiring top access takes place at a gantry, it is considered reasonably practicable to provide the standard of protection described above.

No fixed gantry locations

Tanker/tank container top access is often required at locations where a fixed gantry is not reasonably practicable and in such cases, the provision of mobile access ladders with secure fencing or secure fencing on the tanker should be reasonably practicable.

On road tankers, for walkways on the side of the tank below top level (normally at half height or just above), it is appropriate to protect the “open” side. Otherwise, secure fencing should be fitted to prevent falls from both sides and the far end. This scenario is unlikely to be found on tank containers

All secure fencing should include a top and intermediate rail. Single guardrails are not acceptable and access should be prohibited where this is the only protection provided. The dimensions of the guardrails should be as at Schedule 3 Part 1 to the Work at Height Regulations 2005. The latest proprietary systems now have provision to interlock the rails with the access ladder. Annex 1 lists known suppliers of some of tanker top secure fencing, handrails and other proprietary systems.

Fall prevention and fall arrest PPE

The use of fall prevention and fall arrest PPE systems should only be considered if secure fencing is not reasonably practicable. This applies the usual hierarchical general principles of prevention, Schedule 1 MHSWR, which gives collective protective measures priority over individual protective measures, in this case site based solutions before vehicle based solutions, and consideration of both before consideration of individual protective measures i.e PPE. When the PPE option is selected then all the associated controls in the correct use of PPE must be in place, from the fixing of additional brackets to the tanker or availability of suitable anchor points at the terminal gantry, to the training, supervision, maintenance, testing and inspection of all equipment.

Access ladder for limited access requirement

Where access is required for visual examination or venting via the manlid, an access ladder to each manlid, with no connecting walkway, may remove the need for access to the top of the tank. In these circumstances, access is only required to a height where the torso rather than the whole body is above the top of the tank. Such an arrangement may be particularly appropriate for those tankers that possess only one or two manlids, for example for tankers used in the fertilizer industry. Where access is required several times a week it may be more appropriate to provide and use specially designed proprietary systems such as mobile tanker access ladders. If, however, fixed ladders are provided to the tanker these should be of sound construction, properly maintained and securely fixed. This scenario is unlikely to be found on tank containers

Inspection/ maintenance issues

Duty holders should ensure that work equipment is maintained in an efficient state, in efficient working order and in good repair.

Where work equipment is exposed to conditions causing deterioration, which is liable to result in dangerous situations, it should be inspected:

1. at suitable intervals; and
2. each time that circumstances which are liable to jeopardise the safety of the work equipment have occurred, to ensure that health and safety conditions are maintained and that any deterioration can be detected and remedied in good time. Adequate records of inspections and actions taken as a result should be kept.

General safety measures

The provision of other protective safety measures are also required, such as tank top platforms of adequate dimensions without trip hazards but with high grip surfaces. Other issues to be considered include: avoiding vehicle reversing, vehicle positioning, tripping hazards, suitable footwear, adequate lighting and overhead clearance.

Petroleum deliveries

The Approved Code of Practice Unloading Petrol from Road Tankers L133 came into effect in May 2003. The ACoP gives practical guidance in respect of regulation 6 of the Dangerous Substances and Explosive Atmosphere Regulations 2002 (DSEAR) and the prevention of falls from road tankers unloading petrol at filling stations. Please note however, the guidance still refers to the Workplace Regulations and not the Work at Heights Regulations 2005.

Action by inspectors

For multi site occupiers, it is recommended that the issue is dealt with following the principles described in guidance for a Lead Unit Co-ordinating Inspector approach in Chapter 7 of the HID CI1-4 Inspection Manual.

Many duty holders have demonstrated a willingness to improve their activities to the standards described above. In other cases, enforcement action has been taken against site and tanker fleet operators. Annex 2 provides a framework of suggested enforcement action to take where particular deficiencies are identified at visits.

At visits to tanker or tank container fleets and to site operators, inspectors should discuss the action taken by them to ensure the safety of drivers during, for example, loading/unloading, dipping and sampling operations, particularly where there may be need for access to the tanker top or other work at height is required. Fleet and site operators will need to work co-operatively to develop procedures, where reasonably practicable, which avoid the need to gain access to the tanker/tank container top following the guidance described above. Tanker/tank container fleet operators should provide clear written guidelines on the action drivers should take where standards are not met on particular sites. Some operators may prohibit tank/tanker top access where fall protection is not available. Inspectors should consider writing to tanker fleet and site operators to advise them of their responsibilities. The inspector responsible for the inspection of health and safety at the site should normally lead on formal enforcement where necessary.

Annex 3 illustrates some specimen improvement notices inspectors may wish to consider using or adapting to use where:

• no/an inadequate risk assessment has been completed;
• suitable and sufficient measures have not been provided to prevent falls.

This advice does not preclude the service of a prohibition notice (PN) where there is a risk of serious personal injury. See Annex 2 for the application of the EMM to the prevention of falls from road tankers, and Annex 5 and 6 for example PNs.

Examples of when a Prohibition Notice may be appropriate may include: work at height on top of tanker or tank container where no fall protection of any sort exists. 

PNs may be served on both the site and the haulier where access to the tops of (ISO) tanks is being undertaken without provision of suitable and sufficient arrangements.

It is legitimate to take enforcement action if appropriate measures are in place for road tankers but not for tank containers in a fleet.

Guidance

HSG 136, “Workplace Transport Safety, Guidance for Employers” paragraphs 1009-1061 discusses preventing falls from workplace vehicles.

Trade bodies have also produced guidance for their members. Examples include the Institute of Petroleum (now the Energy Institute ), “Access to the Top of Road Tankers” and the Chemical Industries Association , “Working on Top of Chemical Tankers”. Whilst these documents provide a useful outline of some control measures that may be adopted, HID’s view is that the documents do not reflect the full range and hierarchy of control measures which should be considered. In particular, the IP document emphasizes the precautions that may be adopted when access is required, whilst giving insufficient weight to the options for reducing the frequency of access. The CIA document better reflects the options for reducing access and the responsibilities of the range of parties involved in controlling access.

Advice and guidance is available from HSE’s Falls from Height webpages.

• http://www.hse.gov.uk/falls/index.htm
• http://www.hse.gov.uk/fallsfromvehicles/wpt06.pdf [78.9KB]

Further information

The development of HID’s enforcement strategy on this topic is continuing. HIDCI4, 5S.2 Redgrave Court, Bootle, would be grateful of details in writing of:

• difficulties encountered in adopting the approach outlined above;
• more unusual examples of enforcement action taken;
• other access systems in use that have proved to be successful over a sustained period;
• local initiatives; and
• Feedback of contacts with local stakeholder representatives.

References

• Transport at Work - Safety Issues, HSE DST Minute DST/E2/T/1/98.
• Access to the Top of Road Tankers, Institute of Petroleum, ISBN 082593 192 1 – out of print.
• Milk Tanker Access - Update, HSE NIG Minute 21/1995/11.
• Access on to the top of road tankers in the flour milling industry, OC 537/5.
• Workplace Transport Safety, Guidance For Employers, Second Edition (2005) HSE Books, HS(G)136, ISBN 0 7176  6154 7
• Working on top of chemical tankers, Chemical Industries Association, (1999).  ISBN 1 85897 085 7 (Subject file 269)
• BS 5395:1985 Code of practice for the design of industrial type stairs, permanent ladders and walkways.

[Closed section]

• Annex 1: Companies which manufacture secure fencing systems for road tankers
• Annex 2: Framework of suggested enforcement action
• Annex 3: Tank Containers
• Annex 4: Example Improvement Notice 1 - Risk Assessment for Tanker Top Access
• Annex 5: Example Improvement Notice - Gantry for Tanker Top Access as appropriate
• Annex 6: Example Prohibition Notice – Working on Top of a Tanker with no Protection.
• Annex 7: Example Prohibition Notice – Working on Top of a Tanker with a Single Handrail.