IN THE FIELD

There is need for greater awareness of fall prevention from lower heights, such as trailers. Shown here is the XSERIES Mobile Grabber from Malta Dynamics, which is one solution for providing an overhead anchor point for fall protection when working from trailers.

By Macie Murie

Safe Loading and Unloading of Trailers

A reminder about fall prevention and other hazards

Note: Information for this article was excerpted with permission from the British Constructional Steelwork Association’s 2007 report, BCSA Guide to Work at Height during the Loading and Unloading of Steelwork. Contact steelconstruction.org to request the full document.

Many steel erectors are very aware of fall prevention requirements for ironworkers, however there is need for greater awareness of fall prevention from lower heights, such as trailers. While working from height should be avoided whenever possible, it can be difficult to achieve during the process of loading and unloading steel. Falling from vehicles is a significant cause of workplace transport injuries.

Bryan McClure of Trivent Safety Consulting, and the Chairman of the SEAA Safety & Education Committee says: “Be mindful of trigger heights for fall protection requirements when loading and unloading trailers. General Industry is 4 feet, Construction industry is 6 feet and Steel Erection is 15 feet.”

While there are no specific OSHA requirements that cover working from height while loading and unloading of steel on a trailer, if a standard trailer prior to filling the airbags is 4 feet tall, then there is a need for fall protection when loading steel at fabrication shops, [1910 Subpart D 1910.28(b)(1)(i)]. OSHA recommends guardrail systems, safety nets, or fall protection systems.

The principal safety objectives when loading and unloading steel are:

• Stability of the load at all stages,

• Safe handling, lifting and placing of steel components, and

• Safe access and working positions.

Accidents that occur during the loading and unloading process are typically caused by falls from height, either from a working position or while gaining access to them. Other serious accidents can occur because of instability of the load while handling, lifting and placing components, and also during subsequent transporting activity. Failure to establish safe procedures and implement them through effective management can create unnecessary hazards which leads to workers taking risks, causing accidents.

“Erectors and fabricators should have open communication regarding transportation of materials. It is a good idea for startup meetings to take place early during planning about how trucks are loaded and unloaded to mitigate risk,” recommends Austin Reiner, Safety Manager, Derr & Gruenewald Construction Company.

The single most important step that contributes to safe practices is to ensure that a competent person is overseeing and performing the task at hand, [29 CFR 1926.32(f)]. In terms of unloading at a construction site, identifying the competent person, who is employed by the erector, is necessary to ensure that the following preconditions are met. Best practices outlined in the BCSA’s include:

• Ensure that the scope of work is within competence of the firm.

• Develop a suitable method for the work at hand.

• Provide appropriate supervision to manage the worksite.

• Provide necessary resources and equipment for workers

• Agree on exclusion zones to keep others away from hazards during unloading operations.

Those in charge of loading and unloading operations and those undertaking the work need to be aware of the main hazards associated with the work. Early identification of traffic management, a safe system of loading and unloading, and identification of storage facilities needs to be established and then adopted for the duration of the contract work.

The use of a “competent person” is paramount for loading and unloading of trailers, and operators must be assessed for their ability to load and unload materials from trailers. Briefing during a safety meeting must highlight that the trained personnel are the only ones to carry out such work. In addition to training on working at height and fall prevention, other topics that should be covered include principles of rigging and mechanical lifting, manual lifting and handling, and the ability to do risk assessments.

All training should be recorded and regularly updated with refresher training when changes take place to practices, procedures or following incidents or accidents that expose a potential problem.

Another Solution

Among recommended practices suggested by BCSA is to avoid the situation altogether.

Their document suggests as an alternative option, to loading and unloading steel using forklifts for handling palletized materials. This can greatly reduce the risk of injury to personnel as there is limited or no access onto the trailer. Larger loads should be stacked on dunnage in order for a forklift to access the load without having to carry out additional lifts of separate materials before removing it from the trailer.

Loads can also be made up using independent lifting frames that stay with the load for the duration of the lift and are reused for the next load. This means that the lifting frame can be loaded at ground level before being lifted onto the trailer. At the jobsite, the whole load is removed from the trailer before individual items are removed from the frame.

Avoid Overloading

“Most of the time, fabrication shops rent trailers for transporting steel. It’s important to inspect the trailer before accepting it and loading for transport. Trailers that are in poor condition can cause additional hazards,” reminds Jason Zyla, Operations/Safety Manager, Shelby Erectors. Fabrication shops should also be aware of the trailer’s capacity when planning how to load it.

The overall load on the trailer must not exceed its rated capacity. Ideally the weight of each item loaded onto a trailer should be known and the total load calculated to ensure the trailer is not overloaded. The load calculation needs to consider lifting frames, containers, and packing materials if the load is close to the operational load of the trailer.

All loads should be placed or removed in a sequence that does not cause the trailer to become unstable. This should also be a consideration for transporters that will be off-loading at a variety of different locations.

Site Condition Matters

As loading and unloading of trailers takes place in a wide variety of locations it will not always be possible to be in a fully controlled environment. The risk assessment for the work needs to consider any adverse weather conditions that may affect the work. Inadequate lighting, wind, rain, snow, or ice all increase risks for slips and trips. If these conditions can’t be rectified, then loading/unloading activities may need to be postponed. Most importantly, the ground conditions must be suitable for the trailers and for loading/unloading operations from ironworkers positioning themselves in a boom lift platform between each joist to release rigging—an activity that can take place as much as 100 times per day. It also speeds up production by eliminating open hooks from becoming entangled in bridging and joist members, and it satisfies the general contractors who are looking to eliminate open hooks on job sites. •