MANAGING THE RISK
He explains that sometimes legislative changes are made – such as
the Accrediting Bodies Association introducing new standards for testing
the basic operating skills for rider and pedestrian pallet trucks and
stackers in December last year – and the group helps members keep
abreast of these changes.
However, Waples says that for significant and lasting changes to be
made around the safe use of forklift trucks in the workplace,
management needs to step up and take ownership of the issue to
influence company culture and behaviour from the shop floor all the
way up to the boardroom.
“Management should be equipped with the training and background to
competently identify hazards, backed by the confidence to act when bad
practice occurs,” adds Waples. “Although managers have a key role to play,
it is also up to an operator to take responsibility for how they work day to
day. Safe operators take training seriously and maintain high standards at
all times. Operators should not, for instance, work with equipment they
haven’t been trained to use – and must not allow untrained colleagues to
operate any kind of materials handling equipment. It is crucial that
operators check their truck properly before every shift, report any defects
and not use a truck that’s considered to be unsafe.”
By following this guidance, companies will help to significantly cut
down on those 1,300 forklift truck-related incidents that take place in
the UK each year. While the printing industry may have seen its fair
share of incidents over the past few years, it’s by no means unique.
The problem is that when incidents involving forklift trucks and
humans do occur, there is only ever going to be one loser, so the more
printing companies that follow advice offered by organisations like the
HSE, the safer the printing industry and its workers will be.
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April & May 2020 Printweek
can operate with a bit of paint on the ground, but that needs to be
accompanied by rigid systems and procedures of work so that everybody
knows what they mean,” says Kanda.
This rigid approach to pedestrian safety is a view shared by Phil
Ashcroft, health, safety and environmental adviser at the BPIF, who
says: “Forklift truck operators must treat all pedestrians with respect,
due care and with attention by driving carefully and slowly when pedestrians
are within the vicinity, and keeping vigilant for any sudden
appearance of pedestrians from blind spots, by using positioned mirrors
to review hazards.”
The other commonplace incident involving forklift trucks is when
they overturn. This typically occurs when trucks are not being operated
properly and the driver is speeding or manoeuvring with a load or forks
in the air, which alters the stability of the truck and can cause it to topple
over. “When travelling either with a load or without a load, the forks
must be kept at the lowest point – remember an unloaded forklift truck
is particularly vulnerable to tip over when turning,” says Ashcroft.
The situation is made worse by people who do not wear seatbelt
restraints, according to Kanda. “The provision of restraints on lift trucks
are a legal requirement – they have to be provided – so employers need
to ensure that their employees are wearing those restraints.”
Often incidents of both types outlined above occur because a safe system
of work hasn’t been established, procedures haven’t been properly
communicated and employers are not monitoring for compliance
against the system among their workforce.
“One of the things that’s paramount is if you’re setting up a system, it’s
pointless just setting it up and not measuring if it’s effective and being
followed. You have to complete that essential step,” cautions Kanda.
Appropriate training
Another essential step is giving operators appropriate training. Kanda
says there are three different training stages: basic training, specific on
the job training and then training relating to familiarisation of the job
the driver is doing.
It’s a legal requirement that all forklift truck operators are given basic
training and trained to the standards outlined in the HSE’s L117 ACOP,
which relates to the safe operation of trucks. Kanda says that ultimately
it’s down to individual employers to decide whether or not to deliver
refresher training as over a period of time operators can develop bad
habits and/or their skills can erode, which is why it’s vitally important to
keep competency levels high.
To ensure operator standards are maintained, he advises printers take
advantage of training courses provided by companies that are members
of a voluntary accredited body or quality assured schemes. Although it’s
not mandatory for training organisations to be part of these bodies or
schemes, Kanda says companies who are can help set and maintain professional
training standards – these providers are listed on the HSE website,
which also contains a host of free information about the safe
operation of forklift trucks.
One organisation whose aim is also to promote the safe use of forklifts
in the workplace is the FLTA. Members of the association have to abide
by a strict code of practice and the FLTA has also established a ‘safe user
group’.
“With best practice and legislation always changing, it can be difficult
for managers and supervisors to stay on top of everything,” says the
FLTA’s Waples. “To help combat this, the FLTA set up a safe user group –
a resource of clear and concise information developed especially for fork
truck users. Members receive privileged access to legislation guidelines
and advice, specialist publications, health and safety updates, safety
alerts and more.”
The Health & Safety Executive’s (HSE) head of transportation Kanwal
Kanda offers the following advice on how to avoid workplace incidents
involving forklift trucks.
How to avoid collisions
Get competent people to carry out risk assessments to identify the
specific risks associated with using forklifts in your workplace. After
you’ve identified these risks, segregation is key, according to Kanda.
“At HSE, we talk about a hierarchy of control,” he explains. “At the top
of the hierarchy is if you remove pedestrians from where the forklift tucks
operate the risk of collision is removed. However, that quite often isn’t
reasonable or achievable, which is why we go down the hierarchy and
see if it’s possible to install physical controls and physical barriers, such
as railings or high kerbs
because that will physically restrain a lift truck from entering a
pedestrian only area. If that doesn’t work, it’s about painting lines and
devising procedures and communicating them effectively. Then you
have to measure and monitor how those procedures and systems are
being adhered to because that will tell you if they’ve been effective or
not.”
How to stop forklift trucks overturning
At the end of the day, this comes down to basic training, followed by
specific on-the-job training and familiarisation training. “Using this
three-limbed approach you can ensure as an organisation that your
operators are not only fit for purpose, but also competent,” says Kanda.
He adds that operators should avoid manoeuvring loads in the air at
all costs because it affects the stability of forklift trucks and is one of the
common causes of trucks overturning. Companies should also enforce
the use of seatbelts as that provides extra protection to operators.
Lastly, he advises companies to “enforce” and hold operators and
pedestrians to account if anything untoward happens.
“When an incident does occur, from our experience there would have
been previous near misses which haven’t been realised,” says Kanda.
“So there would have been an opportunity to uncover a potential
incident or a defect in the system. We say to organisations develop what
we call ‘leading indicators’ – these are predictors of where there may be
a defect in a procedure in training or other controls. What it does is
allows an employer to make decisions before an incident occurs.”
It is crucial that operators check
their truck properly before every
shift, report any defects and not use a
truck that’s considered unsafe” Tim Waples FLTA