Coming Winter Raises Issues of Forklift Safety

Materials Handling World (MHW) magazine recently reported on the activities of a Wales company ramping up production and sales of its forklift-based snow ploughs. Every year the company sells their custom steel blades to businesses of all types in the months leading up to winter. The blade can be attached to a standard forklift truck and used for snow removal.

While the custom snow blades might be both innovative and incredibly useful, the MHW story serves as a reminder that the coming winter raises a few issues regarding winter forklift safety. It can be very difficult to operate a forklift under ideal circumstances, but adding snow and ice to the mix is another issue. Forklift operators should be fully trained and experienced before operating vehicles in winter weather.

The snowploughs mentioned by MHW magazine are specially designed to be used by forklifts to clear snow in areas where potential hazards might be lurking. The blades include several safety features like spring-loaded frames and a soft lower edge. These features ensure ploughing around things like manhole covers and concrete parking barriers poses fewer risks.

Forklift Training for Winter

In working environments where forklift drivers will be subject to winter elements, additional forklift training is a good idea. Using the custom snowploughs as an example, snow and ice present the opportunity for forklift wheels to spin and slide. Moving too quickly in a snow removal operation could cause a forklift to spin out of control. At that point, a potential accident could be exacerbated by a flip or collision with another vehicle

Even outside the parameters of plough operations, forklifts sometimes have to move cargo across open parking lots or other exterior spaces. Once again, snow and ice present an additional danger that must be accounted for. The best way to minimise risk is through supplemental forklift training.

What We Do

At the HGV Training Centre, we make forklift training part of our regular schedule of services. We offer training in more than 45 facilities around the UK, using professional and experienced staff members who know their business well. When a driver finishes his or her forklift training with us, he or she is more than capable of doing their job safely and efficiently.

The HGV Training Centre recognises UK law does not make forklift training mandatory. However, we also realise more and more companies are demanding drivers be trained and certified. It only makes sense. A trained and certified driver is an individual who is safer, more efficient, and certainly more reliable.

We can offer forklift training to individuals who hope to eventually land a job as a commercial driver. But we also offer training to companies desiring to certify their own drivers. Regardless of the need, the HGV Training Centre has the people, knowledge, and skill to provide the best forklift training in the UK. Feel free to contact us if you want to know more. In the meantime, remember that winter is just around the corner.