Based in Haverhill, Suffolk are a European company that provides top quality products for conveying varying types of sports equipment on vehicles, camping vehicle accessories, backpacks and luggage plus all types of strollers and bike trailers to enable sporting trips, family holidays and days out.

With so many product lines on offer, an efficient, safe and well run warehouse falls central to their UK operation. The current building does not have a designated loading dock, making it impossible to easily load or unload products from the delivery vehicles. The warehouse operatives need to access the consignments in the backs of the haulage trucks but the current set up made it risky when carrying out this tricky task. It was felt that there was a safety risk that needed to be urgently addressed!

Jonathan Ball went along to assess the concerns and to suggest the best way of providing a safe yet simple means of gaining access into the vehicles. Merely providing a set of safety steps or raised access platform would not totally eradicate the possibility that when the rear doors were in the open position, an employee could accidentally fall off the back of the lorry. The floor bed of most delivery lorries is in the region of 1000 - 1300mm high, so it was easy to see that somebody unintentionally falling off could severely injure themselves.

Within a few days of our site visit, we had provided a quotation and a drawing that detailed our recommendation for mobile lorry steps, fitted with two hinged outrigged guard rails that would prevent any operator from falling from the back of the lorry.

Description:

• Manual handbrake locking system that immobilises the steps once set in place.
• Fitted with 6 treads giving an access height of 1450mm with the top tread measuring 508mm wide x 200mm deep.
• Overall dimensions: 2420mm high x 1410mm long x 700mm wide (plus the additional width of the two extended guard rails which can be made to suit the size of any particular vehicle).
• Treads fitted with non-slip expanded metal which provides excellent safety against slips and falls when being used outdoors in wet conditions.
• Safety chain fitted across the back of the platform which enables operators to gain walkthrough access to a lorry when set in place.
• Finished in synthetic blue paint (any choice of colour finish was available).

This was a simple solution to a popular access issue. It is easily designed and supplied in a matter of only a few weeks.

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