Blind Corner at Shift Change
At 14:00, during shift change, you drive a 2,000 kg counterbalance truck with a 1,200 kg pallet loaded at a 600 mm load centre. The pallet is 1,500 mm high and blocks your forward view. You approach a 90-degree blind corner where a pedestrian walkway crosses the aisle. The aisle is 3.0 m wide, the truck is 2.3 m long excluding forks, and racking is 6 m high on both sides. A convex mirror is mounted on the racking, but it is dirty and angled too high. Floor markings show a stop line 3 m before the corner, and a 'pedestrians keep left' sign is partly obscured by a pallet. You hear voices and a pallet truck rattle beyond the corner. Another trained operator is 15 m behind you, waiting to pass. Your horn works, and the site rule is to sound the horn at blind corners and travel at walking pace.
1. Describe your approach from 30 m before the corner to the point of entering the cross-aisle.
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I would slow to walking pace well before the stop line, keep the forks low and the load tilted back, and check both mirrors. Because the load blocks my forward view, I would not rely on looking over or around it. At the stop line I would stop completely, sound the horn, and look for feet, shadows, reflections and movement in the mirror. The mirror is dirty and badly angled, so I would treat it as unreliable and report it rather than lean out or reach up. I would listen for the pallet truck and voices, then edge forward only when I can see the cross-aisle is clear. If I still cannot see, I would ask the operator behind me or another trained person to act as a spotter, or wait for pedestrian traffic to clear. I would not enter the corner blind just because the horn has been sounded.
2. A pedestrian steps out from behind the racking when your truck is already at the corner. What do you do?
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I would stop immediately and firmly, using the service brake and horn, and keep the truck straight rather than swerving. Swerving with a 1,200 kg load at 1,500 mm high can shift the load or tip the truck, and it may put the truck into the pedestrian's path anyway. After stopping, I would check the pedestrian is safe, keep the load low, and not reverse until I know who and what is behind me. I would report it as a near miss, including the obstructed sign and dirty mirror, because the next shift may face the same blind corner. If the pedestrian is injured or shaken, I would follow the site accident procedure and not move the truck until authorised.
3. Which site conditions increased the risk, and what changes would you ask for?
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The main risks are the shift change, the load blocking forward view, the 3.0 m aisle with 6 m racking, the dirty and badly angled mirror, the obscured pedestrian sign, and the following truck. I would ask for the mirror to be cleaned and correctly angled, the sign to be relocated so it is visible, and the stop line and walkway markings to be maintained. I would also ask for a pedestrian crossing control or a spotter at shift change, because that is when pedestrian traffic peaks. I would keep my speed at walking pace, sound the horn, and avoid following another truck closely into the corner. If the load cannot be carried without blocking the view, I would ask whether the pallet can be broken down or whether a route with better visibility can be used.