Opinion Fork LIft Truck Safety Proactive
Look through reports from the Health & Safety Executive and
“The most safety-minded
companies are amongst the most cost- effective
”
The National Fork Truck Safety Conference 2014 will be held at University of Warwick on Wednesday 24th September.
For more details – including online booking – visit
www.fork-truck.org.uk.
58 September 2014
you’ll regularly see stories of accidents which could have been prevented... but weren’t. Like fi ngerprints, no two accidents are the same, but look closely and you’ll spot something similar in every single one – the absence of a competent enforcer. Committed to the cause, these men and women are well aware of the dangers inherent to operations and, by whatever means necessary, work to ensure basic standards of safety are met. Nowhere is this more important than in lift truck operations, as forklifts are the largest single combined cause of major and over-three-day injuries regarding workplace transport.
PEDESTRIAN DANGER The very nature and size of fork lift trucks means that accidents almost invariably result in serious, life-changing or even fatal injuries for those involved. And it is not the driver, but those working in close proximity to the truck who are most at risk. In fact, 60% of all workplace transport fatalities are the result of being struck by a moving vehicle. The key to minimising this risk is segregating operators
encouragement
Ahead of his speech at the National Fork Truck Safety Conference, Stuart Taylor of Mentor Performance Risk Management looks at the importance of safety leadership.
and pedestrians, and there are all sorts of methods available – to suit every budget – which can help, from steel barriers right down to simple hatched pathways. But, introducing a new system
or aid is not enough to safeguard against this very real risk. From day one, the rules governing it must be established and enforced. But above all else, its use – and the thinking behind its introduction – must be communicated and understood. Good communication is key to encouraging a healthy safety culture on site. But, keeping it alive doesn’t just happen. It needs the effort and commitment of competent supervisors who are well- informed, properly trained and confi dent to act when they see bad practice occurring. However, this type of
confi dence and expertise isn’t just picked up on the job. Yet, more than half of the managers we meet on our Managing Forklift Operations course have never driven a forklift before or received any kind of formal training. In addition, up to 90% are not aware of their legal responsibilities and the devastating consequences of an accident that results
www.shdlogistics.com
in prosecution, let alone the huge fi nancial benefi ts that come with good practice.
BOTTOM LINE But it isn’t all about avoiding accidents. We believe that, through training, nearly every operation can reduce its damage costs by up to 70%. By training operators to be safe and managers to manage safely, they automatically become more effi cient and save money, contributing directly to your bottom line. You see, although adequate training ensures your operators work safely and, as studies have shown, productively, it’s very diffi cult to achieve and sustain any level of success – including reduced daily damage – without good supervision. By working together in a healthy culture of safety, operators and managers (and colleagues working near the trucks) can do much more than save lives. They can make their operations much more profi table, too. For, as studies prove, the most safety-minded companies are amongst the most cost-effective, too. ■
www.mentortraining.co.uk
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