Gloucester Forklift Operator Uninjured in Accident

A Gloucester forklift operator was lucky to be left unscathed after the truck he was operating overturned at a local plastics plant. When the truck overturned it began to leak hydrochloric acid from its battery pack, yet the operator was able to walk away with little more than a bruised ego.

According to This Is Gloucestershire, the August 21 (2013) accident was somehow related to the material being handled. Beyond that, no further details of the cause of the accident were revealed. The 8.30 am accident resulted in the evacuation of the plant and a response from the Stroud fire department and the Environmental Protection Unit (EPU). The plant reopened by 10 am.

Both fire department and EPU officials claim these types of accidents and spills are very rare. Nonetheless, trained personnel are always on duty and are prepared to deal with them should they occur. In this case, the spill was small enough as to pose no real danger beyond the general vicinity.

As far as the forklift operator is concerned, no details of his identity or how long he has worked at the company were released. It is not known whether he had a forklift certificate either. Because licensing is not officially legally mandated in the UK, this driver could have been working with only minimal training. That is unlikely, however.

Employers routinely try to hire forklift operators with proper training, certification, and some experience. As such, many operators are receiving their training before ever applying for work.

Training Can Mean a Paycheque

Because we don’t know the details of why the Gloucester accident happened, it is difficult to say whether proper training would have averted it or not. However, we can say that forklift operator training is one avenue to a steady paycheque. There are plenty of forklift driver jobs available throughout the UK.

The HGV Training Centre is proud to offer forklift operators some of the best training in the country. We not only teach our students the technical aspects of forklifts, we put them behind the wheel to teach them the practical skills necessary to operate safely.

Practical skills include:

• manoeuvring a forklift in tight spaces
• loading and unloading pallets
• moving cargo around a facility
• maintaining awareness of other workers
• proper load-balancing.

The average forklift is a simple piece of equipment from a mechanical standpoint. The difficult thing is to achieve the delicate balance that allows for both safety and efficiency. That balance is one of the things we teach. When students complete our forklift operator program, they are fully prepared to be productive workers.

We invite you to contact us today if you are interested in forklift operator training and certification. The HGV Training Centre has more than 45 facilities around the UK that offer commercial driver training for vehicles of all shapes and sizes – both for individual drivers and fleet managers. We would be happy to help you get the training you need for the career of your choice.