Licence to spill

Driver training is a perennial thorny issue for any manufacturer running a fleet of forklift trucks. Regulatory changes are afoot, although the Health and Safety Executive has yet to publish its revised guidance on forklift driver training, more of which below. Compliance is critical, both for safety and for business reputation. But how can businesses be confident they are training the right people for the right length of time – and at the right frequency? Over-training costs time and money; under-training could cost an awful lot more. And for many employers, a key issue is whether the certificate waved by a new recruit is bona fide – a point raised by delegates at the Fork Lift Truck Association's annual safety conference held in September. From the user perspective, Wincanton, one of the UK's largest third party logistics providers, is well placed to comment. As well as operating its own warehouses and distribution centres, it runs several large sites for UK manufacturers. It has around 9,000 forklift operators – more at peak times – and 81 in-house instructors and trainers. In terms of scale, it doesn't get much bigger than this. Anthony Beddows from Wincanton Training Solutions, the company's in-house training provider, says the subject of licences for forklift truck drivers has been debated for years. "Many in the industry have been left perplexed as to why the HSE won't address the issue and put a formalised scheme in place," he tells WM. Beddows describes the current system of certification as "seriously flawed" and open to abuse. "We've had several instances where potential new recruits have turned up with certificates which appear to be legitimate, yet when we've carried out diligence checks we've found that they are, in fact, fakes." An organisation of Wincanton's size has the necessary resources and safety culture in place to check the validity of certificates, he points out, "but smaller or less diligent employers might simply take the certificate at face value". He adds: "At the moment, the system of certification we have in this country is, in my opinion, plain dangerous." At the very least, Beddows says, all instructors and trainers should be on a central database for ease of communication. Trainers often don't get to see the new equipment until it arrives on site and must then familiarise themselves with the machine and its specifications before the process of retraining operators can begin. "My view is that if you had a licence system in place where all instructors were on a single database, the truck manufacturers could keep them all up to date on new specifications via something as simple as regular email bulletins." HSE insists that a national licence scheme for forklift drivers has never been, and will never be, on the cards. Pete Lennon, HSE's head of workplace transport policy team, comments: "HSE has never believed there should be a scheme similar to the DVLA version for motor vehicle licenses. Basic training, supplemented by site-specific training, is sufficient to comply with the law... Given the range of equipment and the range of different site types where lift trucks are used, it would be almost impossible to have an operator licence scheme that could be properly policed." Lennon says HSE recognises the problems employers face with regard to certificate verification, but adds: "Competence is much more than a piece of paper. Operators are trained and have on-site familiarisation, but on a day-to-day basis it's the employer who knows if that person is operating the forklift truck in a way that means he or she is safe, that other workers are safe and that there will be no impact on business profitability." The forklift truck manufacturers play a key role in this. Jungheinrich's Paul Weir, head of service sales, points out that his company, like a number of others, maintains all certification data for customers to enable checking at any time. He recommends, however, that employers should put all prospective new forklift drivers through a 30-minute practical test before hiring. "This is particularly important if your fleet has joystick controls, for example. Drivers who are used to working with older equipment can face problems when faced with more sophisticated, modern forklifts." Toyota Material Handling's operator training manager Marc Paxford urges businesses to think about site-specific issues, not just basic training. "It's a big factor that many companies underestimate," he says. "Training on one type of truck in one operation doesn't mean the driver will be capable in another environment. Companies who are ahead of the game usually invest in retraining and site familiarisation with any new recruit." It's a valid point. As is the question of whether basic training should take place on or off site: "We train around 2,000 operators each year, about a third of whom come to one of our four main training sites around the UK. It doesn't matter how many trucks or operators they have – in fact, a smaller site may not be able to accommodate training easily on site without disrupting the operation. And from a learning perspective, people can be more easily trained off site rather than being 'consumed by the business'." Training is not a one-size-fits-all solution, Paxford points out. The right training provider will ask the right questions to ensure the course meets the business need, that it is no longer – or expensive – than necessary and that the operator comes away with the knowledge to drive safely and more efficiently. Briggs Equipment, UK distributor for Yale and Hyster, points to a recent case where keys were left in the ignition of forklifts and an employee – who had no forklift training – moved one of the trucks and was crushed beneath it and a crane lifting beam. Briggs' chief exec Richard Close comments: "This is a clear example of the repercussions of cutting corners... There seem to be more companies willing to put profit before safety. But this approach could cost them thousands, while seriously damaging their reputation." Briggs recommends a bespoke training approach, since every site is different. So, what of the long-awaited regulatory updates from HSE? Delegates at the FLTA safety conference were told by Andrew Wetters of HSE that they could expect publication of revised guidance in December. This will combine the Approved Code of Practice for Rider Operated Lift Trucks (L117) with the guidance Safety in Working with Lift Trucks (HSG6). However, HSE's Pete Lennon told WM in November that the publication of the new ACoP was complete in draft form, along with a pocket card for operators and a simpler version of the publication, as a leaflet, for employees. He said these were awaiting sign-off and will now hopefully be published in January 2013. Alongside this, there has been a review of the existing training accreditation body scheme. Four of the six main accrediting bodies in the UK – AITT, ITSAR, NPORS and RTITB – have joined forces and earlier this year formed the Accrediting Bodies Association (ABA). The other two accrediting bodies, Lantra and CSkills, will not join the ABA but will continue to follow the training requirements outlined by HSE. In practice, the ABA will agree and decide on a common set of standards for the basic skills and underpinning knowledge required to operate workplace transport equipment. It will also agree on a policy of sanctions for any members – training providers – who fail to adhere to the standards it lays down. It has already agreed an outline constitution, code of conduct and operating criteria. The difference, we're told, between the new ABA and the old AB Forum (which it replaced and which, as the name suggests, was sometimes more of a 'talking shop' than a dynamic organisation) is that it will no longer be a case of individual accrediting bodies working in competition with each other. Rather, they will work together to set – and crucially raise – standards, ensuring employers have access to competent accredited training providers. The HSE board needs to approve the detail, but Lennon tells us the scheme should be up and running in February or March, "but certainly by the start of the new financial year". Lennon adds: "As a regulator, we're not best placed to say to employers 'this is how you must train and this is who you should use'. The change to the scheme is to allow industry to take ownership – they are best placed to understand what they do and how to deliver what's required." He points out that it's not compulsory to use an accredited trainer – "HSE has never believed in a closed shop" – but that training must be performed by a competent instructor following the ACoP and guidelines. However, on this point, a key benefit of the newly-formed ABA for employers will be the ability to check training certificates issued by accredited providers. Each of the four accrediting bodies will need to have a registration scheme so there will be a central database of trained operators. It's not a full-blown licence scheme, but it's a start.