Transport related lifting operations

Transport related lifting operations can cause serious personal injury or death. Whilst it is not comprehensive, the following advice covers transport-related lifting operations involving the use of:

Provision and maintenance of lifting machinery and the hoisted container (eg skips, bottle banks, etc)

Use of safe systems of work during the lifting operation

A key aim during the whole operation (including driving, reversing, loading/unloading) is to ensure that nobody is in the immediate area as they could be struck by the moving vehicle, its container/skip or load contents. This would also help to avoid injury if, for example, the lifting hook became detached or the load-bearing part failed.

It is important to follow this advice particularly in areas where untrained personnel (eg visitors) or members of the public (in uncontrolled environments such as highways and public car parks) are likely to be present, as they may not appreciate the risks and consequences of their encroachment into the immediate working area.

Large skips and containers causing blind spots at the rear of the load during reversing/loading/unloading operations

Some companies use reversing aids such as closed circuit television (CCTV) and radars to minimise the risk of colliding with pedestrians.

Fixed mounted mirrors enabling drivers to view the rear blind spot and working area immediately around their load/vehicle are used at some facilities.

If trained reversing assistants need to be used, ensure they are in a safe place and not in the driver's blind spot.

Drivers should always check the blind spot for pedestrians immediately before  reversing and loading/unloading unless:

Jogging (shunting or braking hard) to free blocked material from containers is a high-risk activity and should be avoided as:

For further guidance see:

Updated 2021-07-01