Changing wheels on vehicles

Changing a wheel on a vehicle can present risks to drivers which, left unmanaged, can cause accidents and potentially put you on the wrong side of the law. 

Managing the risks

To help you identify the hazards associated with changing wheels on vehicles and the appropriate ways of controlling them, use our example Risk Assessment - Changing Wheels on Vehicles. It covers the generic hazards associated with this type of activity and suggests control measures to reduce risks to an acceptable level.

Note. This risk assessment only deals with the changing of wheels on cars and light vehicles. For larger vehicles and heavy goods vehicles where specialist equipment may be needed, it is recommended that the services of a garage or tyre replacement company be utilised. Your company Driving at Work Policy should specify the method to be adopted. You should ensure your document only addresses “significant” hazards, i.e. any that could, and more importantly are likely to, cause an accident or injury.

Make your instructions clear

Don’t include activities in your document that simply don’t need to be there. Work to the principle that if there is any chance of your staff being unaware of the safe way of doing something, then you will need to make it clear in your document. Finally, always ensure that any control measures you identify and follow only go so far “as is reasonably practicable”.  

Note. The list of potential hazards is not exhaustive. However, for your risk assessment to be considered suitable and sufficient in the eyes of the law it must accurately reflect the “significant” hazards found when changing wheels on vehicles.