Quick Hitches
In late 2008, the Strategic Forum Plant Safety Group was established, and one of its first actions was to call industry experts together for a special meeting concerning quick hitches on 16 January 2009. Nearly 50 people attended, including manufacturers, operators, unions, principal contractors, safety specialists, clients, rental companies and HSE.
Agreed actions included:
- The Construction Equipment Association (CEA) to act as liaison for users to be able to pass information and contribute to the process of re-writing the relevant European Standard, EN474.
- CEA to organise a meeting of quick hitch manufacturers, to discuss what they can do to help the existing situation, and to contribute collectively to the European Standard.
- CPA to guidance on hire companies' responsibilities for provision of equipment and information.
- A task group to be formed to draft guidance on best practice when using quick hitches, including working practices, management and supervision issues as well as driver behaviour and competence.
- Other sources of supply of second-hand hitches in the UK to be tackled to ensure that quick hitches are complete and appropriate information is passed on.
In November 2009, because of continued fatalities, serious injuries and near hits involving the unsafe use of quick hitches, the Strategic Forum Plant Safety Group issued a Safety Notice, reinforcing the guidance issued to contractors earlier in the year. This also clarifies other issues concerning safe use of quick hitches, recognising that employers have their own safe systems of work for the use of quick hitches. It is recommended that all employers use the safety notice as a check list to review their own procedures.
Click here to download the Press Release and Safety Notice.
The safety Notice has also been written so as to be applicable from the Operator's point of view. This is available for employers to print and distribute to their employees.
Click here to download the Quick Hitch Safety Notice for Operators.
The full Best Practice Guidance was published on 4 February 2010.
Click here to download the Best Practice Guide - Safe Use of Quick Hitches
SAFETY NOTICE: Ten steps that contractors, plant owners and other duty holders should be taking now.
These precautions are applicable to all types of quick hitch - manual, semi automatic, and all fully automatic types, including those that lock onto both pins.
1. Keep other workers away from the machine's working range. Never work under the bucket or attachment. Ensure that your site supervisors enforce this rule.
2. Make sure that your operators are aware of their personal and legal responsibility to use all quick hitches safely. Serious misuse of quick hitches should always be treated as gross misconduct which could well lead to dismissal.
3. Operators should be made aware that criminal convictions for misuse of quick hitches have already led to prison sentences for operators.
4. Check that all operators confirm that the quick hitch is properly engaged every time they change an attachment. It is essential that this is done by close inspection at the quick hitch, which will normally entail the operator getting down from the cab. It is best practice to make this a requirement for all quick hitches.
5. Check that site supervisors understand that the operator has to fully confirm that the quick hitch is properly engaged. Make sure site supervisors allow operators time to do this.
6. Check that site supervisors monitor that operators are confirming proper engagement, by spot checks.
7. Check that machines are in good order, and all quick hitches are included in the maintenance plan and subject to proper maintenance.
8. Check that operators and maintenance personnel have specific instructions for the combination of machine, quick hitch and attachment.
9. Confirm that your operators are competent to use the specific quick hitch in accordance with the manufacturer's instructions and your safe system of work.
10. Forbid practices such as "pick and place" (moving attachments without properly engaging the locking devices).
Using quick hitches with other attachments
Contractors may want to use quick hitches with attachments other than a bucket in normal configuration. However, if a specific application, such as the fitting of vibratory hammers or reversing of buckets, is not explicitly allowed by the manufacturer, the user should assume that it is not allowed, and should not use the quick hitch for this attachment or application. Quick hitches should only be used with attachments and in applications as specified by the manufacturer.
Types of quick hitch
The Strategic Forum Plant Safety Group does not recommend or favour any type of quick hitch, whether manual, semi automatic, or any type of fully automatic. There are two reasons for this.
First, all types of quick hitch can be safely used by competent people within a safe system of work. This will involve planning, training, instruction, communication, supervision and maintenance.
Secondly, all types of quick hitch may fail if they are not used and maintained correctly.
Legal status of quick hitches
Concerning the legal status of different types, HSE have not banned the use of existing semi-automatic quick hitches. Since October 2008 there has been a voluntary cessation of supply of new semi-automatic quick hitches by manufacturers, but any ban on existing semi-automatic quick hitches would require regulatory changes and HSE do not have any plans for this. Some reports have suggested that regulations will change in 2010 - but there are no such changes in the law.
As the regulator, HSE has considered the widest implications of regulatory and enforcement action, and decided upon the most appropriate course to be taken to achieve the best level of safety, not just for large contractors, but also individual owner operators and those in other industries, such as agriculture.
The outcome is that all types of existing quick hitch can continue to be used: the type selected must be determined by the employer, taking into account the competencies within their organisation.
European Standards
A revised version of the European Standard EN474 is likely to be appoved in 2010. This will not directly affect quick hitch design and will not make any sort of hitch illegal.
Work is continuing on further revisions of European and International standards - this will lead to developments in quick hitch design in future. The work is led by HSE, in conjunction with quick hitch manufacturers and the Construction Equipment Association (CEA).
If any current or future design of quick hitch is proven to be deficient, then there are remedies under the Supply of Machinery (Safety) Regulations 2008.
Frequently asked questions
1. Is there a "fail safe" type of quick hitch?
There may be a perception that certain types of quick hitch always fail to safety. This is not the case: all types of quick hitch may fail to danger if they are not used within a suitable Safe System of Work.
2. Can fully automatic operation be combined with a manually inserted pin?
If an auxiliary passive manually inserted pin is properly engineered and approved by the manufacturer to fit on a fully automatic quick hitch, this is legal and acceptable. However, the maintenance and inspection regimes for the fully automatic quick hitch still have to be adhered to.