Skanska UK to ban “potentially dangerous type of lorry loader stabiliser”

In a statement, Skanska UK said the ban concerns lorry loaders fitted with hydraulic tilting and hydraulic deployment stabiliser legs that rotate across the position of the fixed controls.

Skanska believes the move will help avoid the risk of operators becoming trapped by ‘swing-up’ stabilisers that can inadvertently be rotated and drawn into the area where fixed controls are in position.

In its press release, Skanska UK stated it had worked closely with the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), the Association of Lorry Loaders Manufacturers and Importers (ALLMI) and directly with manufacturers to highlight the risk to operators of being crushed by this type of stabiliser.

“ALLMI has now issued instructions to all manufacturers and training companies to provide additional information in their training materials to highlight the risk of inadvertent operation resulting in the operator being struck by the stabiliser when using this type of equipment. Skanska UK is also supporting ALLMI in its work to review and consider amending the international standard for how stabiliser equipment operates,” said the company.

Skanska’s actions follow the involvement of this type of stabiliser in a fatal incident at a Skanska UK site at Shirehampton, Bristol in September, 2021.

Skanska UK also said it was collaborating closely with its supply chain partners to ensure they can provide alternative delivery vehicles where required. Vehicles affected by the ban are predominantly those delivering bulky items such as cabins and welfare units.