The Impact of Forklift Accidents on Workplace Safety
While the rate of fatal workplace accidents involving a lift truck has been on a downward trend in recent years, the number of serious forklift-related incidents recorded in the UK remains stubbornly high at around 1,500 every year. Indeed, if you type "forklift truck accident" into your search engine, you’ll get a seemingly endless list of links to stories that highlight the injuries suffered by workers when the materials handling equipment they had been operating, or were working close to, was not operated safely and correctly.
Workplace accidents often come with a huge physical and psychological cost for the victim and their family, and any employee or employer found to have contributed through their negligent attitude to forklift safety can expect to receive a stiff penalty.
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Consequences of Poor Forklift Training for Employers
When the actions – or, more usually, the failure to act – of an irresponsible employer is considered likely to have been the main contributor to a serious workplace accident, a charge of criminal negligence can be brought against the ‘duty holder.’ The ‘duty holder’ is usually a director of the company or a member of its senior management team, and in extreme cases, this person can be sent to prison if the company has fallen critically short in its ‘duty of care’ obligations to its staff.
Generally, however, the punishment handed down by the courts to a company or individual deemed responsible for a forklift-related workplace accident is usually financial. The sums involved are significant: the average fine imposed by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) for health and safety breaches has more than doubled in the past five years and now stands at nearly £98,000. Compensation claims arising from the incident will almost certainly add significantly to the final total.
How to Reduce Forklift-Related Accidents: The Importance of Training
Given that most lift truck-related mishaps tend to result from operator error, the management and training of drivers are clearly vital if the risk of an incident is to be minimised.
Forklift safety training consists of three stages:
Basic Training: Covers the fundamental skills and knowledge required to operate a lift truck safely and efficiently.
Specific Job Training: Provides drivers with an understanding of the operating principles and controls of the lift truck – or trucks – that they use and how it will be employed in their workplace.
Familiarisation Training: Applies what has been learned under normal working conditions – 'on the job.'
Basic and specific job training can be combined but should always take place away from the warehouse environment, while familiarisation training must be done ‘on the job’ under close supervision.
Training Duration and Adaptations for Different Operators
While many factors influence the speed of learning, courses typically last 3 to 5 days. Operators with some experience of lift trucks or relevant experience of similar vehicles may need less extensive training than those with no experience. However, it is important to remember that an operator with basic training on one type of lift truck or handling attachment cannot safely operate others without additional conversion training.
How Forklift Training Lowers Business Costs and Reduces Downtime
Good forklift safety training not only produces safer forklift operators but also results in more effective performance throughout their shifts. For example, throughput efficiency is enhanced, while accidental damage to the truck, goods, and the building infrastructure caused by a careless operator is reduced. By driving professionally, an operator puts less strain on the truck’s engine and other essential components, which reduces truck downtime and minimizes fleet running costs. A truck that is driven carefully also uses energy more efficiently, further boosting profitability.
Why Some Warehouse Managers Overlook Forklift Operator Training
Despite the substantial advantages trained operators bring to a business, it is surprising how many warehouse managers or supervisors treat training as an afterthought or just another unwelcome business cost.
Accredited Forklift Training: Trusting the Right Provider
It’s important to use a forklift operator training provider that is accredited by one of the recognized warehousing and logistics transport training accrediting bodies.
The UK has four main training accreditation organizations serving logistics and supply chain equipment operator training providers – AITT, ITSSAR, NPORS, and RTITB. In simple terms, these accrediting bodies ensure that training providers – such as Toyota – deliver up-to-date and highly relevant courses that are aligned with industry standards, giving ‘students’ the knowledge and skills they need.
In other words, training providers accredited by AITT, ITSSAR, NPORS, or RTITB consistently deliver training programs that surpass the highest industry standards. For instance, they only use registered instructors who are regularly monitored to ensure that they possess exceptional knowledge and have a first-class teaching style.
The Danger of Complacency Among Forklift Operators
Naturally, it is easy to become less focused on a task when undertaking the same activity eight hours a day, five days a week, for 52 weeks a year over several years. However, complacency is considered the single biggest cause of lift truck accidents. If forklift operators become too relaxed, deficiencies are likely to creep into their driving, and they may become slow to notice potential hazards, putting themselves and their co-workers at risk.
The Importance of Regular Forklift Refresher Training
To help avoid complacency and because even the most diligent forklift operator’s skills fade over time, it is important for even the most experienced lift truck operators to be given regular refresher training.
While there is no legal requirement for operators to receive refresher training at set intervals, it is recommended that they are reassessed and retrained on key aspects of their job every three to five years. This ensures they continue to operate lift trucks safely and perform at optimum efficiency every day.
Courses for Warehouse Managers: Avoiding Complacency in Training
If warehouse managers become complacent about forklift safety training, they risk not only their company’s bottom-line profitability but, most importantly, the health and well-being of every person in their team. Thankfully, there are forklift safety courses available for warehouse managers and supervisors as well.
