Access to vehicles whilst loading/unloading

Work that involves the loading or unloading of vehicles could cause fall injuries if the incorrect method of access or egress is used. To ensure that this doesn’t happen, you should complete a risk assessment which identifies all “significant” hazards and appropriate “reasonable” ways of reducing such risks to an acceptable level.

Managing the risks

To help you identify the hazards associated with such activities and the appropriate ways of controlling them, use our example Risk Assessment – Access to Vehicles Whilst Loading/Unloading. It covers the generic hazards associated with this type of activity and suggests control measures to reduce risks to an acceptable level. You can then add to this document items that are specific to your workplace and activities. You should ensure your document only addresses “significant” hazards, i.e. any that could, and more importantly are likely to, cause an accident or injury. Note. You should also refer to your existing risk assessments, including your working at height and traffic management risk assessment, which are associated with this type of work.

Make your instructions clear

Work to the principle that if there is any chance of your staff being unaware of the safe way of doing something, then you will need to make it clear in your document. Always ensure that any control measures you identify and follow are decided upon the principle of “so far as is reasonably practicable”. Note. The list of potential hazards is not exhaustive. However, for your risk assessment to be considered suitable and sufficient in the eyes of the law it must accurately reflect the “significant” hazards found when loading and unloading vehicles