Health and Safety in
Haulage and Logistics
Industry Statistics:
60 employees killed in the last 5 years
5000 injured in haulage & distribution
23,0000 accidents
Most accidents in the industry occur during loading/unloading and vehicle maintenance. It isn’t enough to rely on common sense, removing and controlling hazards should be a priority. Haulage drivers kept the country operating during the COVID-19 outbreak with food and distributors for online retailers becoming increasingly busy. This is an industry with an ageing workforce and limited numbers of younger drivers entering the sector. The health and well being of these workers was already an area of concern and the health crisis has added to that. For example driver hours and driver training requirements were both relaxed to maintain the flow of goods.
We recognise the emerging challenges faced by the haulage and logistics industry and we have outlined our approach below. This sector naturally splits in to two sections which the HSE have identified as presenting a number of risk areas, in addition to those applicable to all businesses.
Haulage and Distribution
Falls from Vehicles
Lorries in the Workplace
Load Security
Slips, Trips and Falls
Warehousing
Falls from Vehicles
Being Hit by a Moving Vehicle
Manual Handling
Slips, Trips and Falls
Whilst COVID-19 changes how we approach specific, existing hazards the basic principles don’t change so the approach we take depends on you and your circumstances.
The base legislation is the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 which essentially requires a business employing more than 5 people to:
Appoint a competent person to help you manage health and safety in your business
Prepare a health and safety policy
Identify hazards and assess risks at work
Involve your workers and inform them about health and safety
Tell your workers what their health and safety duties are
Report accidents and illness
There are some specific laws that require compliance depending on the nature of your services and our advisors at John Green Health and Safety can help you navigate them efficiently and effectively, keeping your customers, employees and members of the public safe.