Safety – the number one priority
May 1st 2008

In its role at the forefront of raising and maintaining standards in the materials handling industry, the Fork Lift Truck Association represents the interests of a wide membership – including dealers, manufacturers, importers, distributors, and suppliers of related equipment and services, as well as those who actually operate the trucks. Key aims for the FLTA include increasing profitability and efficiency for its members and the industry as a whole, but there is one subject that always comes top of its list of priorities… and that's SAFETY

Let's face it, in the wrong hands a forklift truck can be a lethal weapon.

On moral grounds, the first priority of anyone involved in this industry must be to protect its workers and the public from death and injury. The great thing is that proper investment in safety also protects the employer from the cost of legal action, compensation, adverse publicity, and damage to goods, equipment and facilities.

So everyone's a winner.

Excellence acknowledged Each year the Association presents a Safety Award at its Annual Awards for Excellence.

By bringing the nominated new safety equipment and services to people's attention, and allowing the materials handling community to choose the winner in a free vote, the FLTA helps to reward achievement and encourage continued development.

The shortlisted finalists for Awards 2008 give an idea of the diversity of these contributions to safety… It's an undeniable fact that in collisions between trucks and pedestrians the pedestrian always comes off worst. Copar Corporation – represented by Sigma Squared Solutions – is addressing this problem with its Pedestrian Alert Safety System (PASS). Essentially, PASS uses radio signal senders and receivers which warn the driver – by flashing lights – when a pedestrian is detected nearby.

Jungheinrich UK went for a very high-tech approach to controlling risks in narrow aisles – with the floor control system on its EKX Kombi. Intelligent truck management allows lift and travel speeds, as well as aisle-end braking and stopping, to be automatically controlled using RFID technology. Floor quality is monitored and taken into account in speed adjustment, while maintenance of safe distances between the truck and any hazards – including other trucks – can also be programmed.

Traditionally, battery changing in electric trucks has tended to involve use of large cranes with slings, or sometimes insertion of forks into pockets in specially adapted batteries. STILL Materials Handling has been concerned about the dangers inherent in these practices… which can lead to crushing injuries for operators, damage to trucks and explosions through accidental short-circuiting. STILL's safe alternative, on its RX60 16-50 electric counterbalance, allows lateral battery changes using a pallet truck and just one worker.

The Tonero Safety+ package from Toyota Material Handling UK has combined a number of features to offer an advanced travel control safety system. It includes: a load weight indicator, to help prevent overloading; speed and acceleration control technology, which progressively limits drive speed with load at height and counteracts sudden acceleration; and a speed limiter that allows a maximum to be pre-set for the driver.

The winner of the Safety Award 2008, Doosan Infracore UK, presented a delightfully simple but effective solution to a common problem. Reversing is a hazardous manoeuvre – to pedestrians – and one in which many forklift trucks spend a large proportion of their day. By building an emergency horn into the new rear grab handle of its trucks, Doosan has helped to lower the risk of collision. The driver can now sound an instant warning, when necessary, without having to reach forward, and with hands kept safely within the confines of the truck.

Put this date in your diary If you are a user of forklift trucks, make sure you set aside Thursday 25th September 2008 in your diary – now! This is the date for the annual FLTA National Fork Truck Safety Conference. Staged at Warwick University, this must-attend event will present practical guidance on issues and problems raised by – and directly affecting – users of forklift trucks.

As ever, the Association is putting together a programme of presentations, by expert speakers, dealing with the issues of greatest current concern to this wide audience. For 2008 there will be a particular focus on safe operations.

Overturning of forklift trucks remains the greatest cause of fatality and serious injury.

The conference will look at how changes in dynamic testing may highlight the danger areas and help reduce the number of incidents. Designing for safety will come under scrutiny, with a review of what the manufacturers can do – and have done – to make trucks safer. This will be illustrated by examples – including some from the Awards – of important features available now.

The role of attachments in improving operational safety will be examined, as will the safety issues associated with ancillary equipment such as batteries and tyres.

Taking a longer view, the conference will consider how hybrid fuels may impact on trucks of the future – including the relation of these developments to safety.

Answers online There are many ways in which the FLTA can help you… and the 'new improved' website www.fork-truck.org.uk is a good place to explore them.

Crucially, it features a Member Finder that will point you to the suppliers of goods and services in your postcode area who are FLTA members – suppliers who have agreed to abide by the FLTA's rigorous Code of Practice and work to the highest standards. You can rest assured that each one has the commitment, facilities and upto- date knowledge – especially when it comes to safety issues and legislation – to do every job well.

Similarly, there is a mechanism for locating your nearest companies accredited to deliver CFTS Thorough Examinations. CFTS runs the materials handling industry's own national accreditation scheme for Thorough Examination – often described as the forklift's equivalent of a car's MOT test. For those who seek Thorough Examinations outside the CFTS scheme there are many potential pitfalls in terms of non-compliance with the law and widely varying standards of work.

With CFTS there is total peace of mind.

Elsewhere on the site you will find a comprehensive catalogue of literature and other useful resources which can be ordered online. There are free downloadable fact sheets giving advice on issues frequently raised by forklift users – such as best practice and legal requirements relating to safe storage of LPG cylinders, or rope evacuation from mechanical handling equipment, to name but two recent examples.

Is refresher training needed ? This is a question that an employer must consider on a regular basis for every forklift operator. But it doesn't mean that every operator should automatically receive refresher training at some regular fixed interval – which could be wasteful of time and resources. What is needed is a regular reassessment of the operator – from which the employer can see if there are any weak areas that necessitate further training.

A very welcome safety initiative, supported by the FLTA, has been the online operator assessment and monitoring tool from multimedia experts Interactive Driving Systems. This offers a quick, easy and very inexpensive way of fulfiling an employer's duty to reassess.

Virtual Risk Manager – FLT can be found on the FLTA website – www.fork-truck.org.uk – where it is available at a nominal charge of just £25 per operator. The package will provide personalised written feedback and will clearly identify any areas in which the operator may need refresher training.

Join the club The FLTA knows how overburdened forklift owners and operators can be with the many responsibilities, rules and regulations relating to safety. To help them cope with the ever changing legislation, understand the issues and find a way through the paperwork, the Association runs a Safe User Group.

As members of the FLTA Safe User Group, truck users receive the information they need in a form that's totally relevant, very concise and extremely easy to use.

This saves time and money for the member and his or her business, while helping to make the workplace a safer environment for everyone. Visit the FLTA website – www.fork-truck.org.uk – to find out more.

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