Consolidated Fork Truck Services
Thorough Examination: Have you got your act together?
nobody ever checks them, do they? asks Simon Emery, chairman of Consolidated Fork Truck Services.
W
Think again. The Corporate Manslaughter Act (CMA) makes it more important than ever before to ensure your fork lift trucks have valid Reports of Thorough Examination.
Imagine one of your operators loses control of his fork lift truck, striking high level racking, another operative or a member of the public. An enforcing investigator would want to see a copy of the Report of Thorough Examination for the truck involved – as well as all of your other trucks, and probably maintenance documents too. Could your fleet stand up to this sort of scrutiny?
Companies can now be found guilty of corporate
manslaughter as a result of serious management failures amounting to a gross breach of a relevant duty of care.
Whether you buy your fork lift truck or hire it, long term or short term, you have a legal –
hen times are hard and cash flow is poor, it might become tempting to save a little time and money by delaying your truck’s next Thorough Examination. After all,
and moral – responsibility to ensure it has a current Report of Thorough Examination. Users should never assume that someone else has taken care of that responsibility.
Counting the costs
Doing so could be an expensive mistake. Under the CMA, failure to comply with legislation could result in fines of up to 10 per cent of a firm’s annual turnover. While most large companies could withstand a financial hit of this size, its effects could be terminal for many small businesses.
The courts also hold the power to impose publicity orders, where a company must pay to advertise the details of the conviction. A sanction such as this would have a negative impact upon businesses of any size. Remedial orders can also be levied, which force a company to demonstrate that corrective measures have been taken within the organisation.
So, who is most at risk from prosecutions? While large corporations are not immune, it’s more likely for the directors and senior managers of small and medium-sized businesses to wind up in court. With hands-on and day-to-day involvement in their organisations, these individuals are easier to convict. What’s more, prosecutions of individuals are far more common than ever before – reflecting the political will to hold individuals accountable after any major incident.
Peace of mind
To be certain of complying fully with the law we recommend that you obtain your Thorough Examinations through companies accredited to the Consolidated Fork Truck Services (CFTS) Thorough Examination scheme.
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84