Cause & Consequence
- Moving, flying or falling object
- Moving vehicle or vessel
Contributing Factor
- Complacency
- Control of work
Description of Process
A driver was tasked with collecting pallets from vendor for onward delivery.
The driver secured the loads as per company procedure before continuing his journey.
Description of Incident
On arrival at delivery location, pallets were unloaded.
Later, it was discovered that a piece of equipment was missing and that this had fallen from the truck whilst in transit.
The missing piece of equipment was described as a tubing hangar load ring weighing approximately 43kgs and 13” diameter.
Following an investigation, it was concluded that the banding securing the tubing hangar load ring had failed.
The load ring had been banded to the pallet using polypropylene type banding. The single piece of banding had been fixed across several unprotected sharp edges.
Tension had then been applied to the banding to secure the load ring to the pallet.
Immediate Causes:
- Single piece of 20mm banding, used to secure tubing hanger load ring to pallet, was inadequate for task
- The motion of the trailer or contact from the adjacent palletized item could have led to the single piece of banding failing, resulting in the item falling from the trailer
- Road conditions of route (estimated at 25 miles) evidenced pot holes and roundabouts
Root Causes:
- Failure to recognize hazardous condition
- Vendor and driver both failed to recognize the hazardous condition caused by the tensioned banding being in contact with the unprotected sharp edge of the load ring
- Failure to apply secondary retention
Good Practice Guidance
- Banding must be certified and fit for purpose
- Materials stored on pallets should have secondary retention in place
- Drivers to ensure that items are ‘fit for journey’ before commencing journey
- Drivers to ensure that any required paperwork is checked, signed and dated, providing an auditable trail
- The hierarchy of controls should be considered at all time to eliminate hazards e.g. alternative storing options such as a crate
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