Wednesday 29 March sees the return of what has become a tradition in the Netherlands: the Bewust Veilig-dag, or Safety Consciousness day.
Vroom is a participant at this important event. This year’s motto is ‘Working consciously means being safety conscious’ (Bewust Bezig = Bewust Veilig). Everyone is aware that it’s essential to work safely. The fact that things go wrong every now and then, and that accidents still happen is because not everyone is consciously aware of safety at all times. So Vroom’s Media Team and its Quality, Health and Safety and the Environment department have developed a campaign on the theme of “If you can see me, I can see you” (Zie je mij, zie ik jou). Information on this is distributed in a Toolbox meeting that employees must have attended, and it is supported by a short film, which you can watch here.
On the day itself, all employees working outdoors will be given buckets, cleaning agents and cloths so they can clean windscreens and mirrors more often and better, enabling them to improve visibility. Posters will be displayed in the site hut and new stickers will be applied to all heavy plant and equipment in the near future bearing the wording:
Zie je mij, zie ik jou
At a project site on the yard there is often machinery with a wide working range. There is always staff working in the immediate vicinity of machinery. There is a risk that they will be knocked down by vehicles or hit by the payload. If that happens, the resulting injury is often serious. When there are several workers with you on site or in the workshop and you’re all busy, you have to take the others into account. You’re all occupied with high-risk work, things such as driving a loader, working with lifting equipment or performing welding, so this also creates a hazard for others and this has to be done properly.
Risks
– Crushing
– Collision with a person/other material or equipment
– Falling from height/danger of falling onto components/risk of being injured by payload
Measures
– Make sure that you can be seen. Wear the right PPE and/or extra lighting/hi-vis garments (hi-vis tabard, lamp, helmet). Report to the project manager if you need extra lighting when daylight is in short supply
– Work according to the “If you can see me, I can see you” principle
– Be aware of the blind spot when operating machinery
– Make sure high-risk work is carried out during the hours of daylight
– Let colleagues and others know if they are in the wrong position for the work being carried out
– Weather conditions may also have an impact on visibility; examples of this are fog and storms. Consult with each other on whether the situation is still workable
– Always carry out your LMRA (Last-minute Risk Analysis) before starting the work
Make sure there is good visibility
– Adjust the mirrors properly before you start driving
– If a mirror is broken or damaged, have it repaired
– Use the machinery’s cameras if available
– Make additional arrangements if the cameras replace the mirrors and it is not possible to make eye contact via the mirrors.
– Make sure that the mirrors or cameras are clean
– Carry a cloth so that you can clean the windscreen, mirrors and cameras regularly
– Check that the windscreen wipers are working properly and replace the wiper blades where necessary
– Check the level of the windscreen sprayer fluid regularly
Other workers on the building site
– Stay away from moving and turning plant and equipment, taking into account the turning circles of plant and equipment
– Never walk between sections of equipment or machinery
– When passing a section of equipment or machinery, always wait until the operator/driver sees you
– Never walk behind the section of equipment or machinery: the operator/driver will not be able to see you
– Never walk between two sections of equipment or machinery that are in operation, even if they are idling.
The “Zie jij mij, zie ik jou” sticker will soon be applied to all relevant sections of Vroom equipment or machinery.
