The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has issued a warning that trailer safety, maintenance and training must remain a high priority for every road transport operator.
It follows a prosecution at Stirling Sheriff's Court, which saw timber haulage and wood recycling specialist Harpers Transport fined £8,000 after HSE investigators found that a trailer being used to transport waste chipboard between yards at the firm's site at Cowie, near Stirling, was in a poor state of repair and unsafe.
The court was told that the trailer had been loaded with chipboard in an unstable configuration, placing employees at risk of injury.
It was also discovered that the task of loading, storage and unloading of the trailer with chipboard, despite being carried out by staff at the site regularly, had not been adequately risk assessed by the firm.
Furthermore, a safe system of work had not been in place for employees to follow and those employees had not been adequately trained.
Harpers pleaded guilty to a breach of Section 2 of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.
Karen Moran, HSE inspector, says moving wood around the site was part of the company's regular work, so it should have ensured that the equipment was safe.
"The trailer that was used was in such a poor condition that it was not suitable for this task," she says.
According to Moran, Harpers Transport also failed in its legal duty to ensure clear hazards are identified and measures put in place to manage the risk.
She adds: "This includes making sure that equipment is maintained in a condition to carry out the work safely and that workers are trained in the correct procedures."
Year: 2016 | Body Type: Timber | Cab Type: Sleeper | Registration: SN16 NYA / C426639 | Category: Rigids
