Tanker safety: putting the lid on it

摘要

If only somebody would produce a simple, reliable automatic hatch for bulk tankers then drivers would have no need to clamber on top. Somebody has, so why has it so far failed to catch on with operators? One of the key points to emerge at last year's IRTE seminar on working at height on car transporters (Transport Engineer October 2004) was the lack of clarity in rules governing cranked guard-rail posts on the upper deck of transporters. Vehicle operators and the Health and Safety Executive alike welcome their fitment, it seems, but the crank in the posts takes vehicles beyond the 2.55m width limit and thus into a legal grey area. Give us some flexibility here, cried transport engineers, but above all give us a clear ruling. We want to be both safe and legal on the top deck of car transporters.