Forklift Safety Emphasised in the Run-Up to Christmas Holiday

With the start of the 2014 Christmas holiday shopping season looming, a number of organisations are urging companies with forklift fleets to concentrate on vehicle maintenance and safety in the coming weeks. The busiest time of the year for retail outlets is also a very busy time for warehousing and distribution operations and freight forwarders alike. The chaos of the season increases the risk of forklift accidents.

Briggs Equipment operations director Gavin Wickham told SHD Logistics that a good place to start is the routine safety check. He said that operators tend to overlook these checks during the busiest times of the year, oftentimes resulting in higher costs due to breakdowns, lost production, and personal injury claims.

Where equipment is concerned, operators should be checking things such as tyres and hoses. The last thing a company needs is for a forklift to go down over an issue that is seemingly so simple to handle before the start of the holiday rush. Hoses are especially troublesome during periods of heavy, daily use. Operators should inspect them to ensure they are in good condition and, where necessary, make sure all attachments are tightened.

Apart from equipment, Wickham says the work environment also needs to be inspected. Management should be looking for any potential areas of weakness that would lend to forklift accidents. For example, heavier than normal inventories sometimes tend to spill over into areas that are supposed to be kept clear for forklifts. Finding space elsewhere to store excess inventory is a must.

Lastly, we would like to expand on Mr Wickham’s remarks to include forklift truck training. We believe proper training is every bit as important as equipment inspections and work environment. Proper training ensures forklift operators have the knowledge and skill to be safe. Moreover, there is no other time of year when maintaining a safe environment is as important.

We Train Forklift Operators

The HGV Training Centre is proud to offer comprehensive forklift truck training in the UK. Our training programme teaches your forklift operators how to be both safe and productive behind the wheel. Completing our programme earns students a certificate that demonstrates their proficiency as forklift operators. You can trust that certificate as proof that your operators are ready to get to work.

As a company owner or manager, you have an obligation to make sure your operators know what they are doing every time they are behind the wheel of a forklift. Remember, the law requires you to take every reasonable measure to ensure workplace safety. Requiring forklift certification is a reasonable measure. If your operators have not been trained, we urge you to take advantage of our training programme before the start of the busy season.

We also offer forklift truck training to new operators wanting to get their first forklift truck job. Our training is affordable, convenient, and able to be completed in just a short time. Contact us if you want to know more.

Sources:

SHD Logistics – https://www.shdlogistics.com/news/view/seasonal-warning-on-forklift-safety