CPA Bulletin

44 CPA Bulletin > February 2018 www.cpa.uk.net CONNECTING AND TOWING OF TRAILERS Health & Safety: 3 The production of a good practice guidance document for the connecting, loading and towing of trailers with plant is now underway. This is a result of the complexities and safety issues of the use of trailers for the transportation of materials off-highway using plant such as agricultural- based tractors, telehandlers and dumpers. Subjects that will be incorporated within the guidance include machine and trailer selection and compatibility, connection and preparation, factors for safe loading and unloading, driving and towing, legal requirements and the storage of trailers. The publication will be comprised of three parts including a stay-safe section for operators, a section on the planning and supervision requirements and a section providing the supporting underpinning knowledge including trailer types, connecting methods, braking systems, loading methods and towing capacities. Although sufficient safety publications exist for tractor and trailer use in the agricultural sector, this publication will focus on operational activities within the construction and allied sectors. FORWARD TIPPING DUMPERS As part of its commitment to the action programme devised by industry forum for Forward Tipping Dumpers, the CPA has released an operational safety guidance publication titled ‘Staying Safe When Operating Forward Tipping Dumpers’, aimed principally at operators for refresher training purposes. It has been divided into three sections: • Section one consisting of a ‘stay safe by’ list of actions for operators; • Section two consisting of the supporting underpinning knowledge providing the ‘how’s and why’s’ of each action, and designed to provide assistance for tool box talks and one-to-one familiarisation activities; • Section three being aimed at managers and supervisors in terms of planning and supervision requirements. The publication includes a case study to aid learning, based on an observed event, and outlines the causes and consequences of the activity and how it can be prevented. Much of the content of section two has been supplied by the CITB from their Construction Plant Competence Scheme (CPCS) card renewal fact sheets. The publication has been designed to support a number of existing safe operational guidance publications from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) including their HSG 144 safe use of vehicles on construction sites. As with all CPA produced publications, the staying safe guidance can be downloaded free-of-charge from the CPA website at www.cpa.uk.net/ publications and over 750 downloads have taken place since the launch in early December 2017. Colin Wood, Chief Executive of the CPA said: “The issue around dumper safety has become a major topic for our members as well as the industry in general. Because of this, we are co-leading the forum along with CECA and as part of our commitment, we pressed ahead to devise this operator-based safety guidance. This will go some way towards helping industry address the issues, but it is only the first step that we’re taking in setting out guidance for safer dumper operations”. CPA OPERATIONAL SAFETY GUIDANCE