Safety Alert
In August of this year, Skanska UK took a position to ban lorry loaders fitting with hydraulic tilting and hydraulic deployment stabiliser legs that rotate across the position of the fixed controls.
The rationale for this approach was to “mitigate the risk of entrapment of the operator from ‘swing-up’ stabilisers that can rotate across the fixed controls position.” See explanatory images.
Reportedly, vehicles affected by this ban are not widespread; those that may be affected by the ban are predominantly those delivering bulky items such as cabins or welfare facilities.
Immediate Actions Required
- Identify if lorry loaders fitting with hydraulic tilting and hydraulic deployment stabiliser legs that rotate across the position of the fixed controls are in use on your sites.
- Select equipment that meets one of the following criteria:
(a) Allows for the swing-up stabiliser to rotate away from the fixed controls, the direction of which is manufacturer dependent
(b) Is equipped with a manually-operated, swing-up stabiliser.
Stabilisers with a manually-operated swing-up function cannot be retracted at a 90° horizontal position, hence avoiding the risk of a crush injury when the stabiliser beam is retracted.