TOPIC 3 - Highly Commended
Pocklington produces wet-cast concrete slabs and accessories on 2 production lines. To achieve the required product colour, ground pigment is loaded from bulk bags into the colour dosing pods. Though the bulk bags are lifted by a mechanical hoist, the feed collars must be untied before the bag can be emptied into the pods. On average 2 pods must be replenished from bulk bags each week and the area requires daily inspecting.
The original access was via a vertical ladder (with ladder guard fitted) onto a platform. However, the platform level at 3.6m high was too low to access the feed collars without climbing onto the support frame. This meant personnel could potentially fall over the handrails to floor level.
Whilst undertaking a risk sssessment for refilling the colour pods in Jul 2019, the site team leader identified this Work at Height issue and a three-step portable platform was placed onto the access platform, along with extending the handrails higher to ensure any personnel that slipped from steps would still land on the high-level platform.
A few near misses were raised due to the vertical access ladder guard not being reinstated after access to platform.
Please see additional pdf for details of the design process