IS YOUR BUSINESS A FORKLIFT ACCIDENT FREE ZONE?
Aubrey Steele • February 26, 2020
Advice for employers and employees.
We all know that Lift trucks are widely used for moving materials and goods, but did you know that they are involved in about a quarter of all workplace transport accidents. The deaths and injuries caused can ruin lives and businesses. Even when an incident does not cause injury, it can still mean costly damage to lift trucks, buildings, fittings and goods. Employers are required by law to provide basic training and testing for all lift-truck operators you employ (both new and existing). Properly trained operators can reduce the risk of lift-truck accidents in the workplace.
THE LAW
The Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 (PUWER) places certain requirements on employers. You must make sure that all people who use, supervise or manage the use of work equipment have received adequate training, which includes:
*The correct use of the equipment;
*Any risks from its use
*The precautions to take.
f you are self-employed, you need to do the same type of training, and achieve the same standard, as employers are required to provide to their employees.
WHO SHOULD YOU TRAIN?
Potential lift-truck operators should be reasonably fit, both physically and mentally, to safely control and operate lift trucks, with the learning ability and potential to become competent operators.
They should be reliable, with a responsible attitude to their work and physically capable.
You may need to get medical advice and make reasonable adjustments to enable some disabled people to work as lift-truck operators. The Equality Act 2010 is likely to apply over the minimum school-leaving age (16), except in ports, where they must be at least 18 years old, unless they are undergoing a suitable course of training, properly supervised by a competent person. Children under 16 should never operate lift trucks. Look at www.hse.gov.uk/youngpeople/index.htm.
