business training & apprenticeships l
Mentor Training‘s Richard Shore highlights the importance of ensuring agency staff are well trained, which is of particular relevance as the logistics industry ramps up towards the Christmas peak.
Don’t be casual A
s the UK emerges from recession, hiring in agency staff is an increasingly attractive option for employers who need to
respond quickly to a changing workload without the worry of a long- term commitment.
Without that training, this ready flow of new faces brings a potential danger. Experience, skills and attitude vary greatly and it falls to the employer to ensure that safety, productivity and integrity are not compromised by neglecting to provide relevant training. At Mentor, we are pleased to see an increasing proportion of temporary staff attending our materials handling courses across the country. Sufficient training for all staff, agency workers included, is good practice and goes a long way towards ensuring premises remain safe, productive places to work.
Train to save lives
Temporary staff may only be at your premises for a matter of days, but while they are on site, they fall under the same legal guidelines as any permanent employee. Your responsibilities with regard to safety remain the same… as do the employee’s, for that matter. According to the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998, “All operators must receive training in the safe use of work equipment” - so not just permanent staff. Untrained agency staff pose a potential risk – not only to themselves, but also to colleagues. When you employ a new operator, no matter how briefly, your duty of care to all your employees means you need to ensure they are capable of working safely around others. Remember: two thirds of forklift accident victims are not drivers, but pedestrians working nearby. Such accidents can almost
58 ShD October 2011
www.PressOnShD.com
always be avoided with good training, avoiding any emotional or financial costs.
Train to save money
More often than not, agency staff are brought in to deal with high demand or to ensure quick turnarounds of work. The correct training will ensure they are as productive as possible from the outset, facilitating efficient order processing and potentially reducing the amount of time for which additional staff will be required on your site.
Similarly, trained operators do not require several attempts to perform a single task, and they are far less likely to cause damage to stock.
Although, in the short-term, doing away with training for temporary staff may seem like a way to make a quick cutback, in the long-term ensuring all operators have the right skills for the job could make you a substantial saving.
Train as a matter of course It is important that companies check the validity of every operator’s
certification as a matter of course. Any
training provider should be able to confirm – either verbally or in writing – who they trained and when.
Don’t forget, in Britain there is no such thing as a forklift “licence”
qualification giving an
operator carte blanche to use
any given truck. Even if the relevant training has been completed, as the employer, it is your responsibility to ensure that staff are comfortable using your equipment, at your location, for your job, either via an internal training package or using an external provider. Section 30 of the L117 Approved Code of Practice for Rider Operated Lift Trucks states: “Where employees claim to be trained and experienced, employers should insist upon evidence. Employees need to satisfy themselves that the training, experience and ability is in fact sufficient and relevant to the lift trucks and handling attachments to be used. Where evidence, such as a certificate, is not available, employers will need to arrange assessment of the person’s competence and provide any training which the assessment indicates is necessary before allowing the employee to operate a lift truck.” At the end of the day, it is your responsibility as the employer to ensure that all your employees work safely, within the law, for however long they are part of your team. ●
www.mentortraining.co.uk
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