Dangers of Unloading

1
05/93

Committed to
Safety

• Dangers of Unloading
• Background
• A lineman incurred a serious injury during the
  unloading of power poles from a trailer on 26
  July 1993. The worker was attaching lift lines
  to the poles when he lost his footing and fell
  backwards. He fell approximately 4 metres and
  landed head first. This is the fifth accident in
  two years involving a fall from trucks or
  trailers. The accident investigation revealed a
  number of hazards with the unloading operation to
  which the lineman was exposed. These included
  Poor access to the top of the load once on the
  load, the worker was exposed to a falling hazard
  in the event of a fall, a restraining device was
  not available other people were also exposed to
  the falling hazard.
• Recommendations
• Review work procedures for methods to eliminate
  exposure to falling hazards. Examine the
  possibility for conducting the unloading from
  ground level
• Contact suppliers to request loads to be placed
  on the truck or trailer to aid unloading
• If exposure cannot be eliminated, minimise
  exposure to falling hazards by restricting both
  the number of personnel exposed, the number of
  exposures and the duration of the exposure
• Ensure that Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)
  such as hard hats are securely fastened. The use
  of chin straps is advised for personnel working
  in situations where the hard hat may be
  dislodged
• Consider the use of scaffolding with access
  ladders placed next to the trailer to serve as a
  safe working platform.
• Learning Points
• Simple tasks such as unloading have hazards that
  often go unrecognised. In the above instance, the
  lineman had been performing the task in the same
  way for 15 years.
• Remember, supervisors have a key function in
  identifying hazards before the job begins