Driving home the training message

Fork lift training has a crucial role to play in Britain's workplaces, as David Ellison, chief executive of the Fork Lift Truck association (FLTA), explains

No one ever starts their day hoping to be injured. No supervisor looks forward to taking employees to casualty. And it should go without saying that no manager ever hopes to tell a family that their loved one was hurt - or worse - while at work.

Yet the reality is that every day in Britain one worker is hospitalised or killed as a result of a fork lift truck accident. Newly released HSE statistics show that 369 'serious' accidents - requiring at least three days off work - were recorded in 2009/2010.

In many of these cases, better training provision would have significantly reduced the accident risk.

However, this is just the tip of the iceberg. Industrywide research from Skills for Logistics (Dec. 2010) indicates that more than half of all employees working with and alongside fork lift trucks are not sufficiently trained to do so.

High costs, staff shortages and a lack of management awareness regarding the duty to train are believed to be behind this serious shortfall.Whatever the case may be, by neglecting to ensure appropriate training levels, employers are placing lives, limbs and businesses at risk.

The law is clear about management's duty of care in this crucial area. Under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, employers are required to provide whatever information, instruction, training and supervision is necessary to ensure employees' health and safety in the workplace. The Management of Health & Safety at Work Regulations 1999 expands on this. It identifies situations where training is particularly important, such as when a new employee starts, exposure to new or increased risks, or where existing skills may be in need of refreshing.

Best practice Fork lift truck training plays a crucial role in the Association's mission to make Britain's workplaces a safer place. That is why the FLTA will be using this year's National Fork Truck Safety Conference (21st September 2011) as a platform to reach out to fork lift truck users on this very subject. The annual event - now in its ninth year -promises to be an information-packed day. It provides a cost-effective way of keeping up to date with the best practice in the industry. Ideally, every company would have a senior representative in attendance, taking note of new developments affecting safety and communicating this throughout their organisations.

This year's theme - It's no accident: training saves lives - covers a full programme of presentations from expert speakers, including representatives from the HSE and each of the UK's Accredited Bodies for the delivery of fork lift truck training.

Delegates will discover what the fork lift truck industry is doing - and what individuals can do - to effectively highlight the importance of fork lift training in the workplace.

Safety file:Training Recently, courts heard how an 18-year-old employee was left hospitalised for a month after being pinned to the ground by a fork lift truck. The teenager, hired three weeks earlier in his first job since leaving education, was unloading the vehicle when it overturned, landing on top of him.

The subsequent HSE investigation found that during his brief employment he had received no formal training on fork lift operations and no induction training.

Furthermore, there was no evidence of yard supervision or formal training among some of the teen's fellow truck users. The company was found guilty of breaching the Health and Safety at Work Act (1974) and fined.

After the hearing, HSE inspector Michelle Morrison commented: "This was an entirely preventable incident which caused serious injuries to an employee in his first job.

Forklift trucks are involved in nearly a quarter of all workplace transport accidents, often because of poor supervision and inadequate training. All companies that use lift trucks must train operators to a minimum standard set by HSE."