Exclusion Zones for Trucks and Trailers Tipping Crushed Product (including on customer sites)

The civil construction industry has seen a number of incidents involving overturning trucks and trailers making deliveries to construction sites. WorkSafe and VicRoads have highlighted these incidents to ensure all parties are doing all they can to manage this risk. If we don’t manage the risk, there is real potential for a major injury or fatality.

At Alex Fraser, we work together with our customers to provide a work site that is safe for customers, employees and the community. We need your help to implement the following controls that are essential to ensure safety at your sites.

An Exclusion Zone for all people must be maintained around trucks and trailers (see diagram) whenever the hoist is in any raised position. This will ensure no-one is hurt in the event of a rollover.

Vehicles, plant and equipment must be kept clear of the exclusion zone. If site conditions do not allow this, all people must exit and remain outside the exclusion zone.

If tipping is being carried out on, or adjacent to, a trafficked roadway, traffic must be kept clear of the exclusion zone for the full duration of the tipping or spreading activity, using traffic management.

Any exceptions to the above controls must be documented in an approved SWMS.

Other Tipping Controls

Level Ground

• The full length of the tipping or spreading area must be on level ground that is firm and stable

Spreading

• Spreading around corners/bends is not allowed and the truck and trailer must be aligned
• Spreading with chains significantly increases the risk of tipping. Drivers are instructed to not use chains if material is sticky, clinging or will not flow, or if the driver assesses an unacceptable risk for any reason

Spotter

A trained spotter must be provided to guide our driver:

• Where there are overhead obstructions, including No-Go Zones
• Where the work area is highly trafficked with vehicles or pedestrians
• When reversing in a tight area

We recognize that the customer has the ultimate legal responsibility for safety on their site and may have additional requirements that enhance site safety. Please advise us of any additional controls so we can communicate these to our drivers.

Alex Fraser Driver Accountability

It is our driver’s responsibility to ensure tipping and spreading operations are carried out safely and in accordance with these controls. We direct our drivers to bring any shortfalls in safety controls to the attention of customer site staff. Customer cooperation is critical to ensure that no-one on site is being put at risk.

Questions or Feedback

We aim to continuously improve our safety systems and safety performance, and welcome feedback. If customers have any questions or feedback, please contact your Alex Fraser Key Account Manager or call the Customer Service Centre on 136 135.

We would be pleased to provide a representative to carry out a site inspection with the customer prior to any works. Simply call 136 135 to arrange this.