Gavin Wickham, operations director of Briggs Equipment UK

Briggs Equipment has launched the 'BE Safe' health and safety campaign to help reduce the number of workplace forklift-related accidents.

The campaign was developed since Briggs acquired Barloworld in 2012, and aims to encourage a new internal culture following the merging of two workforces.

Since the acquisition, the number of Briggs Equipment employees has doubled to over 1,300. Around half of the company's employees are mobile, multi-skilled engineers who work with an extended product portfolio involving a range of different equipment.

Gavin Wickham, Briggs' operations director, says one of the key aims of the campaign is to motivate employees to think more about their personal safety and the risks around they face.

"We want to develop a new 'stop and think' culture whereby our employees feel empowered to talk to their managers if they have any concerns about performing certain repairs, or working in environments they feel are unsafe," he explains.

Since launching BE Safe, Briggs has held workshops with employees using materials to help drive home health and safety messages. A series of videos were shown, which featured an interview with a Briggs Equipment engineer who lost the tips of four fingers in an accident, and another highlighted the risks engineers face on a day-to-day basis.

The company will be running more workshops throughout 2013, alongside the production of more videos, events and a range of other promotional material.

The company is also sponsoring the Fork Lift Truck Association's National Fork Truck Safety Conference, which will take place at Warwick University on 25 September.