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One of my pet hates is people who are too lazy to return their shopping carts to the collection bays, Ive got the scratches and dings on my car to justify my disdain! I’ll bet they are the same people who leave their rubbish on the table at takeaway restaurants when there is a bin right next to them……..back to my point. Many retailers have tried to charge money in the hope that people will return the shopping trolley and get their money back. Others put up signs to encourage customers to get their trolleys from the bays and take into the supermarket – yeah right – as if my friends, mentioned earlier, are going to do that!

Trolley collectors do a terrific job under pretty poor conditions and do their best to keep the car parks clear and the supermarkets fed with trolleys. Its an often thankless and very hazardous occupation. There have been a number of fatalities and serious injuries. WA issued a Code of Practice for trolley collection after a young collector was killed by a flying oky strap.

Shopping Centre AND Supermarket Owners/Managers have a responsibility to ensure that trolley collectors are properly inducted and supervised to ensure they are following safe work procedures.

Congratulations to Woolworths who have produced this excellent trolley collection contractor induction booklet. Download here: Trolley Collector Induction (426)

Some of the most serious injuries in warehouses that Ive been involved in were when pedestrians were hit by a forklift. The results are almost never minor. I saw a brilliant, yet simple and cheap, idea yesterday for increasing the safety of pedestrians in warehouses. After a couple of serious incidents and many near misses, this company insists that anyone working amongst racking must place a TurboFlare at each end of the racking. This not only alerts forklift drivers to their presence but reminds them not to step out into the traffic zone without looking.

The Turbo Flare is a very bright rotating LED light that is lightweight and battery powered. The units are shockproof, waterproof and can apparently be run over by a truck! They are also used to mark out runways and as emergency markers on highways for break downs or accidents. Probably a lot of other uses as well.

We did some looking around and best price we found was around $60 including GST and postage. Leave a comment if you would like more info.

There have been a number of serious incidents in recent years involving third parties (ie customers and delivery drivers etc) being injured by mobile equipment, particularly forklift trucks. The owners/operator’s Public Liability Insurance policy may not generally cover the cost of resulting claims where the equipment should have been registered hence a claim made on the Compulsory Third Party Insurance Policy (CTP) under the Motor Accidents Act or similar.

Legislation varies in each State and has recently been updated in some to broaden the definition of a public road. Generally, any vehicle or mobile plant (including forklifts, sweepers, “welcome wagons”, trolley tractors & trailers etc) operated in a publicly accessible area (ie car parks, loading docks, driveways, footpaths etc) should have appropriate registration and CTP. This is usually known as Conditional or Restricted Use Registration.

You should ensure that all vehicles, including plant operated by contrcators, are appropriately registered when operating on your site. All operators must have appropriate licenses and a record of this should be kept on file.

Additional controls should be in place, particularly for forklifts, this could include speed governors, reversing alarms, flashing amber lights, warning signage, spotters, mirrors (on and off vehicles), restricting usage to outside of trading hours and barricading of operating areas.

The safe working height of all entrances used by the forklift should be clearly indicated in accordance with Australian Standards.

There have been a number serious incidents in shopping centre car parks and some large associated claims. here are a few risk management suggestions:

• Over time, the lighting in basement car parks can deteriorate to a point that is below Australian Standards requirements. It should be noted that Australian Standards are the minimum requirement and given that the risks in shopping centre car parks are higher than average, lighting levels should be somewhat higher than the minimum requirement.  Older car parks should have a lighting audit conducted and make appropriate improvements. Simple actions such as painting walls and/or ceilings can make a big improvement. Particularly attention should be paid to pedestrian crossings and entrance transition areas where the minimum requirements are significantly higher.
• The recent drought has resulted in a lot of car park landscaping dying off. This has opened up new “short cuts” through car parks with the stumps of dead shrubs creating additional trip hazards. Shrubs should be replanted and in the interim garden beds should be cleared of any dead vegetation and stumps or roots.
• Recent rains will see rapid regrowth of trees and shrubs and they should be inspected and trimmed regularly to ensure they do not obstruct the vision of motorists or pedestrian paths. Arborists should be engaged to regularly inspect larger trees to ensure they do not present a risk. These larger trees can cause significant root damage to car park surfaces. These areas should be highlighted or barricades until repairs or removal can occur.
• There have been a number of recent incidents involving light poles collapsing in car parks. This has been caused by corrosion around the base of the pole, particularly where the pole is located in a garden bed. The base of light poles should be inspected regularly and repaired as required.
• There have been a number of recent incidents and subsequent claims at shopping centres involving slips and falls on waste items in car parks. Cleaners should be instructed to regularly inspect and clean these areas. particularly the areas between wheel stops and footpaths where mechanised sweepers cannot access. A very thorough inspection and clean is required every morning as glass bottles, takeaway wrappers etc are commonly evident from after hours activities.
• Inspect and tighten all the bolts on expansion joint covers.
• Use hazard tape to highlight any potential impact points such as trolley bays and light poles.

You can find more useful information and risk management checklists here