The knock-on effects of an accident

WHETHER YOU'RE you’re running stackers, reach trucks, counterbalance trucks, or any other piece of lifting equipment in your warehouse, they're all vital parts of the day-to-day operation. 

So, when something has a fault or is involved in an accident, it’s rarely a self-contained event without wider impact. There will almost always be further effects beyond the specific accident itself.

You could be left without the equipment for a while, causing lost productivity or delays to deliveries. It could lead to the expense of replacing the equipment — either on a short-term basis or altogether. And even if it’s only temporary there’s the time and productivity lost before the replacement equipment arrives on site.

There's the cost of dropped stock that must be cleared away and replaced. There could be damage to racking or the warehouse environment that necessitates closing off an area for repairs.

Heavy-duty use leads to wear and tear on parts that could be pushed to breaking point. With an unchecked truck doing high-intensity work, owners run the risk of countless mechanical faults: brakes might fail, hydraulics could lose pressure, steering could be out of alignment, chains may have an overlooked weak spot. These are all things that would be caught in a CFTS Thorough Examination.

The financial impact of equipment failures 

The wider effects of equipment failure can all lead to an impact on the company's bottom line. Lower output, altered travel routes, repair costs — the business will be affected in ways that could easily have been avoidable if potential mechanical failures had been caught before they happened.

CFTS is the industry's accrediting body for Thorough Examination of material handling equipment. A CFTS Thorough Examination is an in-depth, efficient, and comprehensive inspection that satisfies both LOLER and PUWER requirements as laid out by the CFTS standard. With non-CFTS Thorough Examination providers there is no guarantee they will cover all the same checks.

In the industry it’s common to use the terms “LOLER” and “Thorough Examination” interchangeably, and this leads to many truck owners expecting — and settling — for less. As many as three out of every four inspections address LOLER, i.e., only the lifting mechanism, ignoring the remainder of the truck.

We sometimes hear of inspections taking as little as 15 minutes. But with something like a 1.5-tonne 3-wheel electric counterbalance you should be looking at a much longer timespan, and as the complexity of the truck goes up, so should the inspection time.

For safe working and peace of mind owners should be sure that every vital component of the truck has been closely inspected and evaluated to be in safe condition for the work being done. 

Avoiding unnecessary downtime 

If faults are detected during non-CFTS inspections, then businesses can sometimes be left with a list of points to address and idle equipment while they wait for repairs. With CFTS inspections the examiners are expertly trained and often equipped to remedy faults on site, meaning outstanding issues can be fixed there and then.

CFTS-accredited examiners will not only have the required expertise to inspect and repair to a high level, but also the most precise equipment (such as chain gauges and fork gauges) to guarantee truly accurate measurement of wear to key parts — no guesswork or estimation involved. They will also be able to advise on the ideal inspection schedule based on equipment type, environment, and work being carried out.

With over 700 depots now accredited to the CFTS scheme across the UK, it's now easier than ever to find your local examiner and ensure your equipment is receiving the right level of inspection.

Geoff Martin is chairman of CFTS

For more information:

www.thoroughexamination.org

01344 623800