Protecting pedestrians from vehicle collisions in the workplace

Factories, warehouses and distribution centres where vehicles operate can be dangerous places, which it is so important to protect workers and visitors.

The two main safety measures are barriers and safety signs. In areas where forklift trucks operate, pedestrians can be protected and separated from vehicles using walkways and barriers. The Sigma barrier kit can be used to clearly separate walkways from areas where forklift trucks and other vehicles operate.

Barriers must be strong enough to withstand an impact from goods handling vehicles working at their maximum allowed speed and with expected workloads. As a rough guideline, a standard barrier should be able to withstand or absorb a 10,000lb impact at 4mph. If vehicles are traveling at higher speeds and their weight plus load exceeds 10,000lbs, then stronger barriers are needed.

If there is a collision and the barrier does its job by preventing the vehicle entering a walkway, it could be weakened. All barriers need to be checked on a regular basis and any damage sections should be replaced.

Walkways and physical barriers separate pedestrians from vehicle areas, but there are instances when pedestrians need to enter areas where there are vehicles present, so warehouse signage is needed to inform pedestrians to be aware of moving vehicles. Yellow warning triangles with icons are the simplest way to do this. A sign with an icon depicting a forklift truck in a yellow triangle, with the message “Warning: forklift trucks” will urge pedestrians to be careful.