Reversing into a shared yard with pedestrians
You are driving a 6-tonne forward-tipping dumper in a concrete yard on a city-centre site. You reverse about 30 m to the pour point because the one-way loop is blocked by a delivery. Your rear-view mirror is cracked and the rear camera lens is smeared with dust. Background noise from two excavators and a pump measures around 96 dB(A), so shouted warnings are unreliable. Your reversing alarm works, but the pump is louder. A gang of four groundworkers walks behind you towards the same pour point, and the only banksman is also controlling the excavator that is loading you. There is no marked pedestrian route through the yard, the pour point sits between two stacks of blocks so the gap is only just wider than the machine, and the site is running late.
1. Using the hierarchy of control, set out what should be done to stop this becoming a collision, and say which measures are weakest.
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Eliminate first: remove the need to reverse by reopening the one-way loop, or relocate the pour point so the dumper arrives forward. If reversing cannot be designed out, engineer it out: physical barriers and marked pedestrian routes so people cannot walk into the machine's path, a turning area, mirrors and cameras clean and working, reversing alarm and beacons.
Then manage it: a dedicated banksman with no other duties, agreed signals, radio contact, and a rule that no one enters the reversing zone. High-visibility clothing and PPE are the last line and the weakest – they help someone be seen but do not stop a 6-tonne machine.
The noise level matters: at around 96 dB(A) verbal warnings cannot be relied on, so the controls must be physical and procedural. The cracked mirror and dirty camera must be sorted before any reversing, because they are the driver's only view of the blind spot.
2. What makes a banksman effective, and when should you stop trusting the signal?
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An effective banksman is in a safe position, stays visible to you, is not standing in the path of the machine, has no other duty, uses agreed signals, has radio contact where needed, and has clear authority to stop the job.
The signal is only valid while you can see the person and they can see the area behind you. You stop if you lose sight of them, if they move from the agreed position, if the signals are ambiguous, if a pedestrian enters the zone, or if their attention is taken by the excavator. Losing sight means losing control of the blind spot, so you stop, apply the parking brake and wait - or ask for the area to be cleared.
Never reverse on a signal you cannot see, and never accept a signal from someone standing where they cannot see what is behind the machine.
3. A groundworker steps out from behind a stack of kerbs two metres behind your machine. What is your immediate response and what follow-up is needed?
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Stop immediately – footbrake, then parking brake, transmission in neutral – and stay stopped. Do not sound the horn and keep moving; the horn may startle the person further into the path.
Confirm where they are and that they have seen you. Then treat it as an incident: report and record it, and get the segregation fixed before reversing continues. The near miss proves the controls failed. The follow-up is a pedestrian route, exclusion of people from the reversing area, and a briefing for the gang and drivers. Blaming the individual is not the fix – the layout allowed them to walk into the zone. If the site will not change the layout, reversing should stop.