Ending the "culture of silence", promoting segregation and "ownership", and introducing delegates to simple, practical techniques that make fork lift truck sites safer. These were among core messages debated at the Fork Lift Truck Association’s (FLTA) National Fork Lift Safety Conference at Loughborough University in September.
The theme of this year’s conference was 360° Safety, reflecting the holistic approach being driven by the Association, not only through this event, but also via its online Safer Site Programme.
Attended by 220 delegates from a range of industries, including building products, the Jungheinrich-sponsored September event, focused on peer-to-peer presentations and case studies on fork lift truck safety.
Speakers shared experiences of FLT operations in their respective fields, offered practical advice and tips on best practice and showed attendees how they had improved site safety.
Safety in fork lift DNA
Craig Johnson, from conference sponsors Jungheinrich, discussed how safety should be part of the core operational attitude, the DNA of fork lift companies.
For Jungheinrich, pioneer of ‘curvecontrol’ for vehicle stability, this means safety in the products they research and develop ,safety in the robust design and manufacturing processes of their trucks, and safety in the quality of their staff worldwide.
Philip White from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) presented his keynote speech on the current state of safety in the UK fork lift truck industry. He introduced sobering facts and statistics from the world of workplace transport and praised the FLTA for its outstanding work in improving on-site safety.
Accident levels still high
Despite FLT accidents reducing by 10% between 2000 and 2010, annual major injury figures are around 300, with 800 "over three-day" injuries.
HSE figures show 57% of injuries involving forklifts are due to people being struck by a moving vehicle. And a large proportion of these accidents are because of poor supervision.
The stats also show that HSE enforcement is very active, with the number of director prosecutions and successful convictions under the Health and Safety at Work Act increasing strongly.
Stuart Taylor from Mentor FLT Training exposed the hidden costs of accidents and how firms can reduce both risk and expense by educating and training staff in workplace safety fundamentals.
"Just because there’s no invoice, doesn’t mean there’s no cost," said Mr Taylor.
For every £1 spent on truck repairs, between £5 and £20 of damage is caused elsewhere. But this can be mitigated by effective site safety programmes, training, employee engagement and following the L117 Approved Code of Practice.
The FLTA also has an Attitude and Behaviour Test available for employers to use on their operators.
Reece Cherry from G’s Fresh Beetroot told delegates how safety had been improved at its plant in March in Cambridgeshire thanks to a company-wide safety drive.
This included tracking and reducing vehicle movements, erecting barriers at dangerous doorways leading into fork lift truck operating areas, using blue safety lights on trucks, improving signage and visibility on corners and using above door lights that warn pedestrians when trucks are operating. Graham Andrews of Heineken shared how the beer and cider giant has been tackling safety at its site in Hereford.
Heineken’s safety initiative "The perfect fork lift experience", details cleaning schedules, pre-use checks, proper maintenance and service procedures and audits. Every procedure has been captured on video to deliver best practice in every aspect of fork truck care and maintenance.
Meanwhile, the winner of the FLTA’s Safety Champion Award – sponsored and presented by Briggs Equipment – was Nick Moore from Brett Landscaping and Building Products Ltd, who led a massive safety improvement project over an 8ha site.
