Every 22 minutes, someone is seriously injured or dies on the UK’s roads. But the tragedy is not only the volume of accidents – it’s the fact that they are preventable. Road Safety Week seeks to highlight this fact and encourage prevention. At Access Hire, safety is of paramount importance and underpins the way that we work and the service that we provide.
As experts in Vehicle Mounted Access Platforms, we take pride in helping our clients across vital infrastructure contracts maintain a safe and secure on-site environment. Whether you are working directly on roads or just roadside, there are a variety of measures that can be taken to reduce the risk of accidents.
Here are four steps to ensure road safety when using Access Hire’s Vehicle Mounted Mobile Elevated Work Platforms (MEWPs):
1. Always plan ahead
Safety is all about thinking ahead: what are the ground conditions of the area you are working on? How is your Vehicle Mounted MEWP going to be positioned?
In most instances, a traffic management scheme will be necessary to ensure traffic can flow easily and safely past your site. This will also help ensure you set up your Access Platform more securely.
2. Focus on visibility
High-visibility PPE should be mandatory for all personnel, and vehicles should use flashing beacons and rear chevrons (standard on all of our vehicles). Ultimately, no activity should be undertaken near a road if there is not ample high-quality visibility at all times.
3. Manage or block traffic
Before beginning any project near a road, you should obtain permission to implement traffic management or temporarily close nearby roads if necessary.
While relatively straightforward to implement, things like temporary traffic lights, signs and cones will dramatically improve the safety of your site. They act as a clear warning sign to oncoming traffic, ultimately reducing the chance of a collision.
4. Implement an Exclusion Zone
It is important to ensure that wherever your Vehicle Mounted Access Platform will be operating is clear- and that you segregate it from other vehicles.
Your vehicles should never overhang into traffic; be sure to take into consideration how their position will change when they are fully elevated as well as the rotation of the boom. You should also block off foot traffic, to avoid pedestrians accidentally coming into proximity of your Access Vehicles when they are operating.
How Access Hire Improves Road Safety
Your vehicles should never overhang into traffic; be sure to take into consideration how their position will change when they are fully elevated as well as the rotation of the boom. You should also block off foot traffic, to avoid pedestrians accidentally coming into proximity of your Access Vehicles when they are operating.