Improve Health and Safety with Dura-Base Temporary Roadway Panels

Health and safety is a serious consideration where ever temporary roadways are used. As well as the practical implications, contractors have a legal obligation to protect everyone on their site. According to the Health and Safety Executive, ‘temporary roadways should meet the same safety standards as ‘prepared’ routes’.

Using Dura-Base mats for temporary roadways is proven to reduce the type of accidents often experienced with aluminium roadways. The typical problems encountered by users of aluminium panels are poor joints between panels resulting in seepage of mud onto the roadway surfaces, and trip hazards caused by uneven surfaces.

In a serious incident involving aluminium panels earlier this year, a driver and passenger were injured and required hospital treatment. Their van collided with the leading edge of a section of aluminium roadway on an EAE project site. In this case, two different designs of panel had been used to construct the roadway. This compromised the integrity of the joint and resulted in the collision.

Durabase mats prevent this sort of problem by employing an overlapping lip system. Twist-lock fasteners secure each mat with a single 90° turn. No additional nuts, bolts, or joining plates are needed. Because Dura-Base mats are made from a composite plastic, they follow the contours of the land, giving added health and safety benefits.

Seepage of mud through the joints in aluminium panels presents another health and safety hazard. In poor weather conditions, this can cause ‘trip and slip’ type accidents. Not only is the work force at risk when walking on the mats, vehicles can skid and traction is reduced. Dura-Base’s unique design means mud or water can’t seep onto the surface of the roadway. This not only protects the workers and vehicles operating on site, but also prevents the transfer of mud to the public highway, itself a cause of road accidents.

During the summer months aluminium panels absorb heat from the sun, creating additional hazards from glare and heat retention. In high temperatures, work often has to be abandoned when the temporary roadway is too hot to be traversed safely. Because the Dura-Base system is plastic, there is no transfer of heat and the sun doesn’t reflect from the panels. This also reduces the levels of damage to grass or pasture beneath the mats, which can suffer as a result of heat build-up.

For more information on how Dura-Base temporary roadways can prevent accidents on your site, contact Terrafirma on 01235 868835 or visit www.terrafirma.gb.com.