The safety of truck drivers and other personnel around mobile plant during loading and unloading is a significant safety issue for every business in the supply chain.
ATA member K&S Freighters led a joint industry committee known as the LUEZ (loading, unloading exclusion zone) Committee to develop best practice guidelines to prevent these accidents from happening.
The guidelines are based on three fundamental principles that should be incorporated into any system for managing loading and unloading. These are:
- forklifts and other equipment used for loading and unloading, and drivers and other pedestrians, should be segregated;
- authority for the area where loading and unloading is occurring should reside with the forklift operator; and
- if the driver ceases to be in the direct line of sight of the forklift operator, then activity should immediately stop until line of sight is re-established.
The guidelines set out best practice controls for implementing these principles in any business.
Author
LUEZ Committee
First published
November 2010