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A safety net when all else fails

40888 Health and safety concerns at Hunslet yard

March 2010 in Freight Operations

tagged Work environment Station and platform North East

CIRAS has received a report about a number of health and safety concerns at
Hunslet yard, Leeds.

The first concern is about the inadequate mess facilities on site. The facilities have
no running water, no first aid kit, no eye baths and no fire extinguishers. Staff are
provided with wet wipes to clean their hands but these are insufficient according to
the reporter, as they remove little of the dirt and grease on their hands. In addition to this there are no toilet facilities at the yard and staff wishing to use the toilet have to walk 20 minutes to the Midland Road depot.

The second concern is about lighting at the yard. The reporter comments that of the 16 tower lights on site, only about 7 of them work. There is also a tower at the south end of the yard that doesn't have any lights on it at all, creating pitch black working conditions, thereby presenting slip, trip or fall hazards.

The final concern is about access to the yard. The access gate in and out of the yard is locked at all times, the reporter appreciates this is for security purposes but
questions what would happen in an emergency situation. Staff often work alone in
the yard and if they were to fall and injure themselves the emergency services
wouldn't be able to gain access to the yard.

Could Freightliner please comment on:

  • the mess facilities at Hunslet yard and consider improving these conditions;
    and
  • any plans to repair lighting at the yard and install lights on the tower at the
    south end?

Also:

  • has Freightliner risk assessed keeping the yard locked at all times, even when staff are present?

Response from Freightliner

The mess facilities at Hunslet yard are not suitable or sufficient and all facilities at
Freightliner Midland Road depot are made available to all safety critical staff working in Hunslet yard. Following previous reports at Hunslet yard for unsafe working, a party of local management, a union elected safety rep and an ORR representative carried out a safety visit and declared the site safe. Freightliner operate in several sidings across the network that are not lit and that is why all staff are issued with a torch.

The gate has to be locked at all times due to the risk of members of the public
trespassing and also the risk of fly tipping which is common to the area. The local
council have been alerted to this. All members of staff are issued with a mobile
phone to provide them with the ability to contact any of the emergency services
should the need arise.