Describing the service and all its tasks
Identify the vehicle, routes, schedules, stops, type of load or passengers and supplementary activities. Multi-stop delivery differs from an interurban route or medical transport.
Analysis must include customer locations and non-routine situations: breakdowns, route changes and delays. Drivers can provide information about unsafe access, recurring waits and conditions absent from the initial plan.
Driving time and working time
They are not equivalent. Spain’s Royal Decree 1561/1995 distinguishes effective work from presence time in road transport. Waiting or loading cannot automatically be labelled rest.
Driving times, breaks and rest periods also have specific rules under Regulation 561/2006, with their own scope and exceptions. Check which regime applies to the service and employment relationship, rather than applying one table to every driver.
Fatigue and delivery pressure
The INSST study on psychosocial factors in transport connects fatigue with schedules, workload, rest and service organisation. Asking for greater attention is insufficient when the schedule is unworkable.
Planning must allow for incidents and recovery, provide support when delays occur and avoid incentives that encourage risk-taking. Work communications must be organised so that drivers are not required to attend to messages or applications while driving.
Loading, unloading and work outside the vehicle
Freight operations require review of vehicle–pedestrian incidents, falls, access, loading bays and equipment. INSST guidance for monitoring this activity also highlights the organisation of waiting areas and manoeuvres.
Agree with each site who performs operations, where the driver stays and how incidents are communicated. For passenger transport, assessment must include boarding, luggage and confrontational situations, according to the service.
Ergonomics and vehicle conditions
Sustained posture, vibration and load handling require specific analysis. Royal Decree 487/1997 prioritises avoiding manual handling through technical and organisational measures where possible.
Alongside vehicle maintenance, consider workstation adjustment, access, available aids and environmental conditions. An instruction to lift a package better does not replace reviewing its weight, handling frequency, route and handling equipment.
Training, coordination and follow-up
Instructions must match actual tasks and equipment, including responses to breakdowns and emergencies without improvising hazardous interventions. At other companies’ sites, coordination is needed on traffic, waiting areas and concurrent operations.
Follow-up may review incidents, access problems, vehicle defects and difficulties obtaining rest. These data should be used to improve service organisation and check the effectiveness of measures, alongside risk-based health surveillance.
Hypothetical example: delivery work with waiting
A route accumulates delays because several customers receive goods at the same time. The driver ends up carrying out delivery tasks during periods planned as breaks.
The employer reviews schedules with the sites, records activities correctly and reorganises the route. Safe waiting areas and unloading equipment are also agreed. The change addresses causes rather than asking the driver to recover time by driving faster.
