An employee cement tanker night driver loaded his vehicle and proceeded to the weighbridge. He stopped the vehicle too close to the weighbridge platform and, as a result, the cab door wouldn’t open fully as the underside was catching on the platform.
Rather than repositioning the vehicle, he attempted to exit the cab forwards and fell / slipped onto the gantry, causing a graze to his leg. The Driver continued with his night shift, not reporting the incident until he arrived at the customer’s site. Unfortunately, the driver was absent from work as a result of his injury. The image shows the injury sustained.
KEY FINDINGS
Workplace layout - The cabs of the new fleet of Volvos are lower, to aid better vision of vulnerable road users, and therefore the doors were catching on the walkway platform.
Safe system of work - Drivers were informed to position their vehicles slightly further away from the platform so the doors wouldn’t catch and they could safely access / egress.
Get a grip - Due to the cab door hitting the platform, the driver could not exit the vehicle backwards holding onto the grab handles and chose to step out forwards.
Incident reporting - The driver should have reported the incident immediately to the Weighbridge or Night Shift Manager in accordance with the reporting protocol.