Cargo Chat is a discussion forum on cargo handling, safety & health, and related matters of interest to readers of Forkliftaction.com News. This issue covers a subject that has been considered by ICHCA International's International Safety Panel, seat restraints.

Seat restraints in terminal equipment

As part of a continuing drive to offer advice and guidance to the cargo handling industry, ICHCA International's International Safety Panel has adopted a statement on use of seat restraints in terminal equipment.

While it has long been accepted that cars on public roads should be fitted with seat belts and that drivers and passengers benefit from wearing them when travelling, the same cannot be said for terminal equipment. Speeds are very different. However, any mobile equipment can lose stability and, when that happens with terminal equipment, the driver tends to jump or be thrown out the side as the equipment overturns, meaning the machine falls on him or her.

Impact collisions can have severe repercussions for drivers. Even where a cab is fitted, the driver can be thrown about. It is, therefore, increasingly being accepted that seat belts or restraints should be fitted and worn in terminal equipment. Many equipment manufacturers already fit them and a new ISO Standard on lap belts has mandated an international standard for terminal equipment.

The panel believes the driver's position in all mobile terminal handling equipment and other terminal vehicles should be fitted with a suitable seat restraint and that it should be used. However, this is qualified by saying the terminal should determine, based on risk assessments, what type of restraints are suitable and when it is appropriate they be worn.

Should it be a lap belt, as covered by the new ISO Standard, or a three-point restraint? Are there any circumstances on a terminal in which a restraint should not be worn? For example, an incident involved a small forklift working on a flat barge that went over the edge and into the water. The driver escaped because he was not wearing a belt. There should be edge protection where vehicles and plant are required to work close to edges and lower levels but is it always present? These are all things for the assessments to consider.

The panel says manufacturers should be encouraged to fit restraints during construction and those ordering new terminal equipment should ensure specifications includes such provisions.

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Contact ICHCA International:
Suite 2, 85 Western Road, Romford, Essex, RM1 3LS, UK
Tel: +44 (0) 1708 735295 Fax: +44 (0) 1708 735225
Email: info@ichcainternational.co.uk
Website: www.ichcainternational.co.uk