In its COVID-19 Recovery Strategy, the Government set out a three-step approach to bringing England gradually out of lockdown, with the first stage involving a return to the workplace for those who are unable to work from home. It has emphasised that this is dependent on employers and their staff agreeing that this can be done safely. In that context, it has produced a series of guidance document giving advice on how this aim can be achieved in various sectors and industries.
This article aims to take the key principles out of Working safely during COVID-19 in or from a vehicle in order to provide a step-by-step practical guide for hauliers and other operators looking to understand how to work safely during the current pandemic. It offers guidance applicable to people who work from vehicles, including couriers, mobile workers, lorry drivers and those using on-site transit and work vehicles.
Three points need to be made clear at the outset.
1. Each business will need to translate this information into the specific actions it needs to take depending on the nature of the business including the size and type of business, how it is organised, operated, managed and regulated.
2. Nothing indicated here supersedes an operator’s normal obligations relating to health and safety, non-discrimination and equalities legislation.
3. In applying this guidance, account must be taken of agency workers and contractors as well as the organisation’s own employees.
Given that operators should be aware of the “normal” risks that apply to their business, their focus in the present circumstances must be on the unprecedented problems posed by COVID-19. While recognising that it is impossible to completely eliminate the risks associated with the coronavirus, the assessment must take account of all reasonably practicable steps. The Government has said that this means identifying sensible measures and has emphasised the need to consult staff at this crucial stage in preparing for a return to work.
As the Government has insisted since the earliest days of the pandemic, the simplest and most effective action is regular handwashing, to which the operator must add regular and careful cleaning of premises and vehicles (with particular reference to surfaces that are subject to repeated touching such as handles, fuel pumps and vehicle keys).
Another message that has been repeated on a daily basis by the Government is the need for social distancing. Not only should operators ensure that this requirement is emphasised through training and the use of posters, but it should also ensure that floor signs, barriers and other indicators are put in place to make it as simple as possible for people to follow the advice and stay two metres apart.
If it is not possible for a task to be carried out while staff maintain a two metre distance, then the first consideration must be to ask whether the job actually needs doing, and in that form or location. If it is essential, then other mitigating measures must be introduced to keep the employees as safe as possible.
This could mean:
• keeping the activity time involved as short as possible
• introducing screens or barriers to separate people
• increasing the frequency of hand washing and surface cleaning
• using back-to-back or side-to-side working (rather than face-to-face) whenever possible
• reducing the number of people each person has contact with by using fixed teams or partnering (so each person works with only a few others).
It will be important to plan for the minimum number of workers needed on the premises and deployed in the field in order to operate safely and effectively. Their health and well-being must be monitored, without forgetting their colleagues who are still working from home.
The organisation must be aware of those of its employees who are considered to be clinically vulnerable individuals, at higher risk of severe illness. Assuming that they cannot work from home, they must be given the safest available on-site roles, enabling them to stay two metres away from others.
Operators must communicate appropriately with workers whose protected characteristics might either expose them to a different degree of risk, or might make any potential roles inappropriate or challenging for them.
The need to deal with the specific problems presented by COVID-19 must not divert attention from the legal duty to make reasonable adjustments to avoid disabled workers being put at a disadvantage, and to assess the specific health and safety risks for new mothers. Expectant mothers, as always, are entitled to suspension on full pay if suitable roles cannot be found.
It is also important to note that any steps taken do not have an unjustifiable negative impact on some groups compared to others, for example, those with caring responsibilities or those with religious commitments.
Particular attention needs to be paid to times when sites and depots are at their busiest. Operators should consider the following wherever possible.
• Staggered arrival and departure times.
• The provision of additional parking, to avoid crowding, or facilities to help people walk, run or cycle to work.
• Assigning fixed groups of workers to the same transportation routes where sole travel is not possible.
• Restricting the use of works vehicles such as minibuses to avoid over-crowding.
• Scheduling goods deliveries away from rush hours and loading and unloading where possible without involving the driver.
• Providing sufficient quantities of hand sanitiser/wipes within vehicles to enable workers to clean hands after each delivery/drop-off.
• Setting clear use and cleaning guidance for showers, lockers and changing rooms.
• Avoiding two-person deliveries, even if this means delaying the supply of heavier items. Where this is not possible, keep the same two people together as a team.
• Reminding drivers of the importance of good ventilation (driving with a window open).
• Identifying areas where people have to directly pass things to each other (such as job information, spare parts, samples, raw materials) and finding ways to remove direct contact, for example, by using drop-off points or transfer zones.
• Briefing drivers and temporary staff on a regular basis, communicating new arrangements to customers and providing in-vehicle guides and reminders.
• Maximising use of electronic paperwork and reviewing procedures to enable safe exchange of paper copies where needed (required transport documents, for example).
• Encouraging drivers to stay in their vehicles where this does not compromise their safety and existing safe working practice.
If an accident or an emergency such as a fire occurs, the response will over-ride the measures put in place to deal with the current crisis. Attention should be paid to this possibility, ensuring for example that any barriers introduced to promote social distancing do not make it difficult to leave the building in an emergency.
People involved in the provision of assistance to others should pay particular attention to sanitation measures immediately afterwards including washing hands.
The Government states: “When managing the risk of COVID-19, additional personal protective equipment (PPE) beyond what you usually wear is not beneficial.” However, employees may if the wish to wear a face covering but should be encouraged to do so properly:
• washing their hand before and after using the covering
• changing it if it becomes damp or has been touched
• cleaning the covering after use or disposing of it properly.
There is a Government poster, Staying COVID-19 Secure in 2020, which operators may want to download and display to demonstrate that they are complying with official guidance.
It also offers a useful reminder of the key methods of mitigating the risk of transmission:
• Encourage people to work from home if possible
• Introduce rigorous cleaning, handwashing and hygiene procedures; and
• Maintain a two-metre distance in the workplace.
NTP provides a quick and easy to complete online risk assessment course for transport operators. Included within the course is a COVID-19 risk assessment.
The cost of the online course is just £10 and everything you need to know is included along with instructions on how to carry out a risk assessment and the template itself. You can find out more about it by CLICKING HERE.
Once you sign up you will get instant access to the course. You will also receive a completion certificate once you complete the course to act as proof of training.
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Source URL: https://app.croneri.co.uk/feature-articles/getting-back-road-driving-safely-during-covid-19
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