Managing workplace traffic is a vital part of every health and safety plan within businesses. Heavy vehicles, including mobile plants that are active in and around the workplace, are regularly connected with injuries and in some cases, fatalities.
Workplace traffic can include cars, bikes, trucks and heavy mobile plant such as forklifts. Traffic can also include site visitors, groups and individuals. The best form of pedestrian protection is to remove anything considered as a traffic hazard. This is done at the design stage by creating a clear layout of the workplace and identifying areas where vehicles and individuals could come into contact. Examples of this include preventing vehicles from being used in areas accessed by people or creating different traffic routes to prevent individuals from entering areas where there are vehicles. When this isn’t achievable, the risks must be minimised wherever possible. This takes considered planning, design and control of vehicle and pedestrian movements in and around the defined workplace space.
Items that should be considered for managing traffic, especially traffic on construction sites include:
- ensuring people and vehicles are clearly separated on site, with a specific focus on areas where vehicles enter and exit the site
- reducing the movement of vehicles
- either completely removing the need for reversing vehicles or finding suitable ways to minimise the need for reversing
- making sure vehicles and people are clearly visible at all times
- making good use of traffic signs, and
- creating and implementing a carefully considered traffic management plan that aligns with all safety requirements
All West Australian businesses have a duty to make sure workers, and citizens are not exposed to any health and safety risks arising from work done. This duty includes ensuring controls are in place that prevents workers and individuals from being injured by on-site vehicles and traffic.
A traffic management plan is an essential part of every construction site and workplace. Perth based companies such as Highways Traffic have many years of experience in delivering high-quality traffic management plans.
A carefully considered workplace traffic management plan in Perth will ensure that all on-site individuals have suitable training, qualifications or licenses to operate any machinery, vehicles or plant that they are using, as an example : a management plan will ensure any engaged drivers are checked for licenses, qualifications and ability when hiring drivers, operators or contractors, or when they are train.
It’s common for accidents to occur when untrained or unqualified people drive heavy construction vehicles. All access to these vehicles must be considered and managed in any traffic management plan, ensuring others have a responsibility to check. All businesses or individuals running a site must ensure that all individuals on-site can demonstrate an explicit knowledge of the on-site traffic rules and safety policies and procedures on the site. All workplace visitors must also be made aware of on-site traffic safety and, wherever required the full traffic management procedures. Drivers that visit the site must be aware of any restrictions of the vehicle size or type and must understand any on-site limitations and boundaries before starting work.
If you run a business in Perth or Western Australia, we recommend working alongside a comprehensive highways traffic management plan that minimises any safety risk to workers or the general public.
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