Internal traffic in the workplace

Why indoor traffic is a priority risk

The coexistence of vehicles and people in confined spaces, with intersections, doorways, loading docks, blind corners, changes in gradient, and uneven surfaces, creates situations of pedestrian accidents and collisions. These are exacerbated by the weight of the cargo being transported, time pressure, insufficient lighting, noise that makes it difficult to hear other vehicles, and the presence of external personnel (truck drivers, contractors, visitors) unfamiliar with the facility’s rules. Forklifts, due to their weight, speed, limited visibility when loaded, and instability with the mast raised, account for a significant proportion of serious accidents: pedestrian collisions, rollovers with operator entrapment, and cargo falls.

Royal Decree 486/1997 establishes in its Annex I that the circulation routes of workplaces, both those located outside and inside buildings, must be usable in accordance with their intended use in an easy and completely safe manner for pedestrians or vehicles traveling on them and for personnel working in their vicinity; it sets minimum widths, requires the separation of vehicle and pedestrian routes when necessary, and the clear delimitation of routes when safety requires it.

Royal Decree 1215/1997 dedicates Annex I to mobile work equipment: protection against operator crushing in case of rollover, restraint systems, speed limitation, visibility, lighting, and signaling. Annex II requires that the operation of self-propelled equipment be reserved for trained workers and that traffic regulations be established for its use in work areas. The INSST Technical Guide on Work Equipment and NTP 713 and 714 specify these requirements for forklifts.

Technical and organizational measures

• Traffic plan. Map of the center with vehicle and pedestrian routes, traffic directions, loading and unloading zones, parking, crossing points and access points, reviewed with each change in layout.
• Separation of flows. Delimited and protected pedestrian walkways, marked pedestrian crossings, physical barriers in risk areas, separate doors for people and vehicles and prohibition of pedestrians in maneuvering areas.
• Road design. Sufficient widths for the equipment and its load, resistant and regular pavement, controlled slopes, adequate turning radii, mirrors at blind corners, lighting and drainage.
• Signage. Internal traffic signs in accordance with Royal Decree 485/1997, road markings, speed limits, light and acoustic signals on vehicles and warning devices at intersections.
• Docks and loading areas. Approach procedures, wheel chocks and truck restraint systems, leveling platforms, dock traffic lights and coordination with external drivers.
• Equipment. Forklifts and vehicles with rollover protection, seat belt, lights, reversing alarm, speed limiters and periodic maintenance; selection of the appropriate equipment for the space and load.
• Drivers. Training and written authorization, aptitude, driving rules (speed, low load, look in the direction of travel, do not lift people), and control of external drivers.
• Pedestrians and visitors. Information on traffic regulations, high-visibility vests, mandatory routes, and visitor escort in traffic areas.
• Technology. Pedestrian detection systems, zone-based speed limiters, cameras, and telemetry that records incidents and speeds as support, without replacing design and organizational measures.

Specific situations

• Warehouses and logistics. High density of forklifts, narrow aisles, pedestrian picking next to vehicles and docks with external trucks; requires strict separation, management of activity peaks and control of contractors.
• Industry. Intersections between production lines, material transport and maintenance; combination of vehicle lanes with fixed workstations.
• Construction works. Heavy machinery, uneven terrain, shared access with the public road; Royal Decree 1627/1997 requires organizing traffic and separating vehicles and pedestrians.
• Agriculture and the agri-food sector. Tractors, trailers, and forklifts in yards and warehouses, with a risk of overturning and running over.
• Parking and access points. Flows of cars, vans and pedestrians at entrances and exits, especially during shift changes.
• Automated guided vehicles. Defined routes, detection sensors, exclusion zones, and stop and intervention procedures.

Organizational application: how to manage internal traffic

1. Draw up a circulation plan of the center, identifying roads, crossings, docks, access points, risk zones, and vehicle and pedestrian flows, and analyze previous incidents.
2. Evaluate the risks of internal traffic by zone and define design measures (separation, widths, pavement, lighting, mirrors), signage and organization.
3. Establish the traffic rules for the center: speeds, directions, priorities, areas prohibited to pedestrians, use of vests and behavior on docks, and disseminate them to staff, contractors and carriers.
4. Define the procedure for authorizing drivers, with specific training by type of equipment and aptitude control, and the procedure for receiving external drivers.
5. Maintain mobile equipment with daily inspections by the driver and periodic maintenance, removing those that show failures in brakes, lights, warnings or protections.
6. Implement periodic inspections of roads, signage and behavior, and a system for communicating near misses on internal traffic.
7. Review the traffic plan in the event of layout changes, new equipment, or incidents.

Preventive management software allows you to maintain the traffic plan and center rules, manage authorizations and driver training, record daily checks and maintenance of mobile equipment, and analyze incidents and near misses by area.

Limits and common mistakes

1. Allowing pedestrians and handcarts to coexist on the same roads without physical separation or signage.
2. Using trolleys in aisles or spaces unsuitable for their size and load, or driving with the load raised and without visibility.
3. Allowing people without specific training or authorization to drive, including temporary and contract workers .
4. Neglecting loading docks: trucks without chocks, lack of coordination with the external driver, and pedestrians in the maneuvering area.
5. Do not review the traffic plan after changes in layout or activity.
6. Relying on technological devices without correcting road design or traffic regulations.

Detailed conditions for traffic routes and mobile equipment are set out in Royal Decrees 486/1997 and 1215/1997 and in the INSST technical guides; this sheet is for informational purposes.

Regulatory and reference framework

• Royal Decree 486/1997, of April 14. Workplaces ; Annex I on traffic routes, doors, ramps and loading docks.
• Royal Decree 1215/1997, of July 18. Work equipment; Annexes I and II on mobile and self-propelled equipment, drivers and traffic regulations.
• Royal Decree 485/1997, of April 14. Safety and health signage, including that of traffic routes and vehicles.
• Royal Decree 1627/1997, of October 24. Construction works; organization of traffic and separation of vehicles and pedestrians.
• NTP 713: Self-propelled forklifts (I): basic knowledge for risk prevention (INSST) . Characteristics and risks of forklifts.
• NTP 714: Self-propelled forklifts (II): main hazards and preventive measures (INSST) . Preventive measures, training and traffic regulations.

The INSST technical guides on workplaces and work equipment develop the application criteria of Royal Decrees 486/1997 and 1215/1997; Royal Decree 1644/2008 regulates the design requirements of forklifts and other mobile machines.