Introduction to Health and Safety at Work

Describe
the physical features of traffi c routes within 
a workplace designed to ensure the safe movement 
of vehicles.
9. 
Outline
the factors that should be taken into account 
when planning traffi c routes for internal transport.
10. 
Outline
measures to be taken to prevent accidents 
when pedestrians are required to work in vehicle 
manoeuvring areas.
11. 
Outline
the means by which the risk of accidents 
from reversing vehicles within a workplace can be 
reduced.
12. The warehouse of a ceramic tile manufacturer is to 
be developed to increase its storage capacity and 
to enable the use of internal transport to transfer the 
goods to and from the loading bays.
(a) 
Outline
the design features of the traffi c routes 
that should be addressed in order to minimize the 
risk of fork lift truck related accidents.
(b) 
Describe
additional
measures that need to be 
taken to protect pedestrians from the risk of 
being struck by a fork lift truck in the warehouse.
13. 
Outline
the factors to consider when assessing the 
risks to a long distance delivery driver.

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10.1 
Introduction
Until a few years ago, accidents caused by the manual 
handling of loads were the largest single cause of over 
three-day accidents reported to the HSE. The Manual 
Handling Operations Regulations recognized this fact 
and helped to reduce the number of these accidents. 
However, accidents due to poor manual handling tech-
nique still accounts for over 25% of all reported acci-
dents and in some occupational sectors, such as the 
health service, the fi gure rises above 50%. An under-
standing of the factors causing some of these accidents 
is essential if they are to be further reduced. Mechanical 
handling methods should always be used whenever 
possible, but they are not without their hazards, many of 
which are outlined in Chapter 9 and later in Chapter 10. 
Much mechanical handling involves the use of lift-
ing equipment, such as cranes and lifts which present 
specifi c hazards to both the users and bystanders. 
The risks from these hazards are reduced by thorough 
examinations and inspections as required by the Lifting 
Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations (LOLER).