Investigate the forklift and pedestrian near miss in bay 3

What is going on

On 1 September a forklift reversed out of loading bay 3 at Yatala while a visiting truck driver was walking to the amenities. The driver stepped back onto the pedestrian walkway and there was no contact, but the forklift operator did not see him. The event is recorded as INC-26-088 with a high potential severity and a spotter has been required for reversing in bay 3 as an interim control. The bay has a painted walkway, but the line is worn and a stack of pallets partly blocks the operator's view. Rowan Fitzgerald wants a proper investigation and a hazard analysis so that the leadership team can approve permanent controls on 16 September.

Your brief

Investigate the near miss, analyse the hazards of forklift and pedestrian interaction in bay 3, assess the risk before and after proposed controls, recommend permanent controls using the hierarchy of controls and update the incident and hazard register with the findings and actions.

Work through it

You do not need to do it all. Doing a few of these will show you what the work is like. Your ticks and notes stay on this device.

• Read the incident and hazard report form and the WHS policy, and review the register entry INC-26-088 and the interim control already in place.
• Interview the forklift operator and the truck driver separately, record their accounts and walk the bay to check sight lines, the walkway marking and the pallet storage.
• Conduct a hazard analysis of the bay 3 loading task covering forklift movement, reversing, truck driver access to amenities and visibility.
• Assess the risk of the interaction using the risk matrix before and after the interim spotter control, and record the ratings.
• Recommend permanent controls following the hierarchy of controls, for example physical separation, a driver waiting area, repainted walkways, reversing cameras or exclusion zones, and explain why each is preferred.
• Update INC-26-088 in the incident and hazard register with the causes found, the actions, owners and due dates, and raise a maintenance work order for any physical change.
• Write a one page investigation summary for Rowan Fitzgerald to table at the leadership meeting.

What someone in this role would produce

• Interview notes and site walk observations
• Hazard analysis and risk assessment record
• Updated incident and hazard register entry with actions
• One page investigation summary