A banksman may only be used where it is safe for a person to work on foot near the vehicle. Where machines are very large, such as in quarries and open-cast mines, banksmen are used only in exceptional cases, because the blind spots are so big.

Clear, unbroken communication with the driver is the most important part of your job. It also extends to others nearby, such as loaders and ground workers. This module explains how to plan and communicate, and teaches the standard hand and verbal signals.

In this module you will learn about:

• Why planning and communication are vital.
• What you and the driver must agree before a manoeuvre.
• The standard hand signals set out in the Signs and Signals Regulations.
• The standard verbal signals, and the use of radios.
• Good practice when giving signals.

Unplanned vehicle movements cause serious accidents to workers, contractors and sometimes members of the public. The causes are usually poor planning, poor supervision, no briefing, and no induction for visiting drivers.

Good planning puts the banksman and driver inside an agreed safe system of work. Clear communication means that everyone knows where the vehicle is going at every stage, people are kept clear until the engine is off and the brake is on, and the manoeuvre can be stopped at once if something goes wrong.

Under the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005, the person in control of the operation has duties to employees, contractors, agency workers and visiting drivers who could be affected by vehicle movements.

In practice, visiting drivers must be told about site hazards, speed limits, and what is expected of them during a guided manoeuvre. Only when the driver has understood the rules should the banksman begin to give signals.

Before any manoeuvre, you and the driver must confirm:

• The site rules, such as one-way systems, plant routes, speed limits and no-go areas around loading bays.
• The exact start and finish points, and that the whole route is clear.
• The order of the movements needed, such as a left turn followed by a reverse.
• Exactly where you will stand. This must be a safe position, out of the vehicle’s path, where you stay in the driver’s view throughout. Never stand in a blind spot.

A useful briefing is a short two-way check, not a speech delivered while the vehicle is already moving. State the vehicle, route, intended direction, stopping point, signal system and what to do if contact is lost. Ask the driver to repeat the key points or point them out on the route. This reveals misunderstandings such as different meanings for “left”, confusion about “towards” and “away”, or an assumption that a radio instruction overrides a stop signal.

Discuss any local signal variations before work begins and demonstrate them while stationary. If the driver changes, repeat the briefing; do not assume the replacement has heard the earlier conversation. Keep the language direct and use familiar words. A few seconds spent confirming shared meaning can prevent an ambiguous instruction from becoming a moving hazard.

• Your protective equipment: a high-visibility jacket of class 2 or class 3, a safety helmet, and safety boots, so that you are easy to see and protected.
• The system of signals you will use, so that you both understand every signal in the same way.
• What happens if you lose sight of each other. The driver must stop immediately and stay stopped until contact is restored.

Sometimes a relay of two banksmen is needed around a corner. Every person in the chain must stay in sight of the next. If anyone drops out of view, the operation stops.

If the driver does not respond to a signal, do not move closer to attract attention or wave several different instructions. Give the agreed stop or danger signal if the vehicle is moving and it is safe to do so. The driver should bring the vehicle to a safe stop. Then establish why the signal was missed: a cab pillar, glare, distraction, vibration, poor contrast or a blocked line of sight may be involved.

Change the position, improve lighting, use an agreed radio or choose another method. Test the change with the vehicle stationary. The banksman must not assume that silence means the driver has understood. If communication remains unreliable, end the manoeuvre and ask the supervisor to revise the method. A missed signal is a warning that the control system needs attention.

Part 7, Chapter 1 of the General Application Regulations 2007, with its Schedule 9, sets out a standard set of hand signals and verbal signals. They are the same signals used across Europe.

You should use these standard coded hand signals. Other recognised codes, used for the same manoeuvres in certain sectors, may also be used, but only if they are formally agreed, explained to everyone, and at least as clear and safe.

• You and the driver must agree the system of signals before operations begin.
• Each signal must have only one meaning, with no room for doubt.
• Everyone on site must use the signals in the same way.
• Give only one signal at a time, so that the driver cannot misinterpret the instruction.
• Hand signals are designed to work on their own, without any need for spoken commands.

Where the risk assessment shows a need, illuminated wands or fluorescent gloves can make your signals easier to see.

The regulations include signals for lifting operations that a vehicle banksman does not normally use. The signals you need are:

• Start, meaning attention, or start of command.
• Stop, meaning interruption, or end of movement.
• End, meaning the operation is finished.
• Move forwards, towards the banksman.
• Move backwards, away from the banksman.
• Move to the banksman’s right, or left.
• Horizontal distance, showing the gap that remains.
• Danger, meaning emergency stop.

The start signal tells the driver to pay attention, and that the agreed movement can begin.

Stretch both arms out to the sides at shoulder height, straight and level with the ground, with your palms facing forwards towards the driver.

Hold the signal clearly until you are sure the driver has seen it.

The start signal should follow the checks, not replace them. Before giving it, confirm that the driver is ready, the route is clear, the destination is available, the exclusion zone is intact and the banksman is in the agreed safe position. Check that any lifting attachment or load is in the configuration covered by the plan. If the driver starts before receiving the agreed signal, stop the operation and reset the briefing.

Do not give a start signal merely because a vehicle is waiting or a queue is building. A deliberate pause gives everyone time to notice a pedestrian, barrier or obstruction that has changed. The signal authorises only the movement agreed at the briefing. If the vehicle needs to do something different, stop and agree a revised instruction before it moves.

The stop signal asks the driver to make a normal, controlled stop. It is used to pause the movement, or at the end of a movement.

Raise your right arm straight up above your head, with the elbow slightly bent and your palm facing outwards towards the driver.

Do not confuse it with the danger signal, which uses both arms and means an emergency stop.

The end signal tells the driver that the guided manoeuvre is complete, and the operation is over.

Clasp your hands together in front of your chest, held close to your body, one hand on top of the other, with one palm facing up and the other facing down.

Only give the end signal when the vehicle is safely in its final position.

The end signal means the guided operation is complete; it does not by itself secure the vehicle or make the area safe for other work. The driver should stop in the agreed final position and apply the parking procedure for that vehicle and task. Depending on the operation, this may include parking brake, transmission selection, chocking or isolating equipment under the site method. Confirm that the vehicle cannot move before approaching it or allowing people into the work area.

Keep clear of moving attachments and loads until the operator confirms they are lowered or secured. The banksman should then tell the supervisor that the movement is complete and report any defect, near miss or change to the route. Remove temporary barriers only when the vehicle is safe and the area can return to normal use.

Move forwards means move towards the banksman. Bend both arms at the elbow, with your palms facing upwards, and move your forearms slowly and repeatedly towards your body.

Move backwards means move away from the banksman. Bend both arms, with your palms facing downwards, and move your forearms slowly and repeatedly away from your body.

Thinking of towards and away from you avoids confusion when the vehicle is reversing.

These signals direct the vehicle to the banksman’s own right or left, not the driver’s.

To move to your right, stretch your right arm straight out to the side at shoulder height, palm facing down, and make small, slow movements in that direction.

To move to your left, do the same with your left arm.

Before you start, make sure the driver understands that right and left mean your right and left.

The horizontal distance signal shows the driver how much space is left, for example between the back of a lorry and a loading bay.

Hold both hands up in front of you at chest height, with your palms facing inwards towards each other. Move your hands inwards or outwards, so that the gap between your palms shows the distance that remains.

As the gap closes, bring your hands closer together.

The danger signal means emergency stop. Give it the instant you see a hazard, such as a person walking behind the vehicle.

Raise both arms above your head, with your elbows slightly bent and your palms facing outwards towards the driver.

The driver must stop immediately. Do not restart the movement until the hazard has gone and you have both agreed it is safe.

Let us follow a typical guided reverse in a haulage yard. After the briefing, you take your agreed position to the side of the loading bay, where the driver can see you in the mirror and where you cannot be trapped. You give the start signal and wait until the driver acknowledges it. Because the lorry is reversing towards you, you use the move forwards signal, which means move towards the banksman, even though the driver is going backwards.

If the trailer drifts, you use the signal for move to your right or your left, remembering that this means your right or left, not the driver's. As the trailer nears the bay, you switch to the horizontal distance signal and bring your hands closer together as the gap closes. When the trailer reaches the buffers, you give the stop signal. Once the parking brake is on and the engine is off, you give the end signal. If anyone walks behind the trailer at any point, you give the danger signal.

Now consider a construction site, where a dumper must drive forwards through a narrow gap between a scaffold and a stack of materials, then turn towards a spoil heap. You stand ahead of the gap, to one side, in the driver's view. After the start signal, you use the move forwards signal, because the dumper is moving towards you. As it enters the gap, you use small move right or move left signals to keep it central, giving only one signal at a time and pausing so that the driver can respond.

Before the dumper reaches you, you give the stop signal, because you must not stay in its path. You then move to a new safe position for the turn, and only when the driver can see you again do you give the start signal for the next stage. If the driver loses sight of you, the dumper stops. If a worker steps out from behind the scaffold, you give the danger signal at once.

For very large plant, you may not be able to stand close enough for hand signals. Verbal signals over a dedicated two-way radio channel may then be used. People must be kept out of the operating area, and you must stand in a safe place where you can still see the whole area.

Everyone using verbal signals must speak the site language well, and speak clearly. The standard words are: start, stop, end, forwards, backwards, right, left and danger. Raise and lower are for lifting.

Vehicle marshalling and crane signalling may use related hand movements, but they are not automatically interchangeable. A lifting operation may involve a slinger attaching the load, a signaller directing the operator, a suspended load travelling overhead and a separate landing team. Everyone must know who controls the crane and which signals apply. Do not begin a lift because a vehicle banksman has given a familiar gesture. Check the lift plan, load attachment, exclusion zone, landing point and communication method with the appointed people.

If the load is obscured from the operator, the planned signalling chain must cover that loss of view. Any person can call for a stop when a hazard appears, but only the agreed signaller should direct routine movement. Specialist lifting training and site familiarisation are needed before taking this role.