Page 12 - Hub-4 Magazine Issue 69

Mentor Training
Traffic Management Onsite – What you need to know!
According to figures from the HSE, each year around 7 operatives die due to a result of incidents involving vehicles and moving mobile plant on workplace sites.
These incidents can and should be prevented by effective and careful management onsite; inadequate planning is the root cause of many of these accidents so what do we need to consider to maintain a safe working environment?
Pedestrians Vs Vehicles
Routes should be planned ahead for people entering and exiting the site. Pedestrians and vehicles should have separate entrance and exit ways wherever possible. These routes must be suitable for the type and weight of the vehicle to minimise the amount of time they are manoeuvring around site. The route should incorporate pedestrian crossings in areas where machinery and pedestrians may merge making use of barriers, separating walkways and roadways. Minimise vehicle movement as much as possible; this could include dedicated parking areas away from busy areas on site and storage areas for deliveries so they do not need to cross the site.
Vehicle Movement and Visibility
Vehicles, specifically mobile plant should avoid reversing where possible. A turning circle is a safer way to return from those tighter spots (if vehicles are working in areas where they will need to reverse; this must be considered in the traffic management plan).
For larger and more complex sites, plant marshallers and banksman should be employed to control these manoeuvres around site.
It is also important to ensure the site is fully lit, especially if the site is running night-time or 24-hour operations. Workers must always wear high-vis clothing to emphasise their presence as much as possible and ensure aids on the vehicles are all working correctly. These include mirrors, cameras, reversing alarms etc.
Signs, Instructions and Training
Each site will run its own routes and traffic rules. All drivers and pedestrians must be aware of these rules before entering site; this should be reinforced by standard road signs around site where possible.
Site inductions should be completed on operational sites and regular training for drivers and workers allows everyone to keep up-to-date and fully understand the most current rules.
There are many other considerations when working around mobile plant equipment. It is important to always be vigilant and to understand how accidents are caused and how to prevent this. For more information on equipment training onsite or to talk to our team about vehicle banksman training, contact us today – 01246 386900.
General Kinematics selects new UK & Ireland distribution partner – Red Knight 6 Ltd
General Kinematics, the world-leading supplier of vibrating and rotary equipment and solutions for bulk processing of materials, has selected London-based Red Knight 6 Ltd (RK6) as their new UK and Ireland distribution partner, with immediate effect.
RK6's success with their existing partners, primarily in the C&D and waste processing sectors, gave General Kinematics (GK) confidence that RK6 was the perfect partner. As a result, the full GK range of equipment will be made available throughout the UK & Ireland markets, comprising end-users and OEM manufacturers. In addition, the agreement will allow the RK6 team to work alongside the UK-based GK team to generate sales opportunities for their range of vibrating conveyors, feeders, screens, and density separators.
"GK is a worldwide business, with over 60 years’ experience, and we've been underrepresented in the UK & Ireland for some time," said Davide Gado, Managing Director, EMEA, GK. "We've opted to work with RK6 because of their extensive experience, knowledge, and capability in our industry. It is time to elevate GK in the UK & Ireland once more."
"I'm genuinely excited by the opportunity working with GK gives us. I have used some of the GK equipment in my past. However, in our recent discussions, I quickly realized the full range of capabilities and routes to market had not been fully available to the marketplace. In addition, GK's product quality is second to none and maintains our ethos of only working with market-leading partners. We all know businesses involved in the transfer and processing of materials, whether C&D waste, wood, metal, IBA, & even food, and they are businesses that can benefit from the brilliance of the GK product range," said Paul Donnelly, Managing Director of RK6.
www.hub-4.com July-Aug 21 - Issue 69
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