Practical guidance approved by HSE with a special legal status. If you are prosecuted and did not follow the relevant part, you must show you complied with the law some other way. Examples are L117 for forklifts and L148 for docks. See L117 in plain English.
Checking that controls are in place and working before anything goes wrong, for example a planned site walk. The opposite of reactive monitoring. See the monthly transport safety check.
HSE's umbrella term, in its investigation guide HSG245, for accidents and incidents, including near misses. See how to investigate an accident or near miss.
A trained person who guides a reversing vehicle using agreed signals. HSE says to use one "only when all other options have been exhausted". See the traffic management plan guide.
Someone with the training, knowledge and experience to help with health and safety. Employers must appoint competent help under regulation 7 of the Management Regulations 1999.
Anything you do to reduce a risk, such as a barrier, a one-way system, a rule or training. Some controls are much stronger than others. See the hierarchy of controls.
When a trailer moves away from the loading bay during loading, for example as forklifts drive on and off, opening a gap at the dock edge.
One of a list of specific events in RIDDOR Schedule 2 that must be reported even if nobody was hurt, such as a forklift overturning. See the dangerous occurrences list.
The route people actually walk, as opposed to the one drawn for them, often visible as a worn path or a gap in a fence. HSE suggests designing walkways to follow them. See the pedestrian segregation check.
When a lorry drives off from a loading bay while it is still being loaded or unloaded, sometimes with a forklift on board. Controls include key systems, wheel chocks and traffic lights.
Something that could cause harm, such as a reversing lorry or a forklift. See the workplace transport risk assessment.
The order in which to choose controls, from most to least effective: remove the hazard, substitute it, engineer it out, use administrative controls, and finally protective equipment. See hierarchy of controls.
Great Britain's regulator for workplace health and safety. It publishes free guidance, investigates serious incidents and enforces the law.
HSE's A guide to workplace transport safety, third edition, 2014. The main HSE guidance on vehicles at work: routes, segregation, reversing, loading and drivers.
HSE's guide to investigating accidents and incidents (2004). It sets out four steps: gather the information, analyse it, identify controls, and act.
HSE's Managing for health and safety, third edition, 2013. It describes managing health and safety as Plan, Do, Check, Act.
HSE's three layers of cause. The immediate cause is "the most obvious reason why an adverse event happens". The underlying cause is the less obvious system or organisational reason. The root cause is "an initiating event or failing from which all other causes or failings spring", usually a management, planning or organisational failing. See the investigation guide.
HSE's Approved Code of Practice and guidance for rider-operated lift trucks (forklifts): selecting, training, authorising and supervising operators. See L117 in plain English.
HSE's Approved Code of Practice and guidance for safety in docks, published in 2014 when the Docks Regulations 1988 were revoked. See ro-ro ramps and linkspans.
A measure of things that have already gone wrong, such as injuries or damage. Also called a reactive indicator.
A measure that shows whether controls are working before anyone is hurt, such as whether walkways are used or near misses are being reported. Also called an active indicator.
The movable bridge between a quay and a ro-ro ship's ramp, adjusting for tide and ship height. See ro-ro ramps and linkspans.
An event that could have caused injury but did not, such as a forklift passing a metre from someone. Most near misses are not reportable under RIDDOR, but all are worth recording. See the near-miss log template.
A work injury that keeps a worker off their normal duties for more than seven consecutive days, not counting the day of the accident but counting weekends and rest days. It must be reported under RIDDOR within 15 days. See RIDDOR explained.
A large vehicle used to lift and move containers in port yards. HSE lists reach stackers among vehicles with limited visibility. See reversing and blind spots in port yards.
Learning from things that have gone wrong: accidents, near misses and ill health. The opposite of active monitoring.
The standard most health and safety duties are set to. HSE explains it as "balancing the level of risk against the measures needed to control the real risk in terms of money, time or trouble."
The person who must make a RIDDOR report. For an employee, it is their employer, wherever they are working. For a self-employed person or a member of the public injured on premises, it is usually the person in control of those premises. See RIDDOR explained.
The Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013: the law on which work-related events must be reported to HSE. See RIDDOR explained and the RIDDOR checker.
How likely it is that someone will be harmed by a hazard, and how badly.
Identifying hazards, deciding who might be harmed and how, and deciding what to do about it. Employers with five or more employees must record the significant findings. See the worked example.
Ships that vehicles drive on and off, using a ramp, such as ferries and car carriers. See ro-ro ramps and linkspans.
Keeping people on foot and vehicles apart. HSE says "Segregating pedestrians from vehicles, preferably by making routes entirely separate, is the most effective way of protecting them." See the pedestrian segregation check.
The part of a risk assessment that must be written down: the hazards, who might be harmed and how, and what you are doing to control the risks.
One of the serious injuries to workers listed in RIDDOR, such as most fractures, amputations and serious burns. These must be reported without delay. See the RIDDOR reportable injuries list.
A tall vehicle that drives over a container and lifts it from above, used in container terminals. Visibility from the cab can be limited. See reversing and blind spots in port yards.
A written plan of how vehicles and people move around a site safely: routes, crossings, reversing, loading, visitors and who checks it. See the traffic management plan template.
A driver from another company, such as a haulier, who comes onto your site. They may not know the layout or speak English as a first language. See visiting HGV drivers in ports.
Any vehicle or piece of mobile equipment used at work, from forklifts and lorries to yard tractors and cars, and the risks from moving them around people.
A hazard is something that could cause harm, such as a reversing lorry. The risk is how likely it is that someone will be harmed by it, and how badly. Risk assessment is about reducing the risk, since many hazards cannot be removed completely.
A near miss is any event that could have caused injury but did not. A dangerous occurrence is a near miss that appears on RIDDOR's specific list, such as a forklift overturning, and must be reported to HSE even though nobody was hurt.
An Approved Code of Practice has a special legal status: if you are prosecuted and did not follow it, you must show you met the law another way. HSE guidance is not compulsory, but following it will normally be enough to comply with the law.
Knowing the words is the start. Knowing what happens in your yard is the next step. Safety Mapping: a free two-week trial on one camera.
By Hao Zheng, CEO at RoboK · Published 1 November 2026 · Last updated 1 November 2026