Peter Harvey

The Fork Lift Truck Association (FLTA) has announced that Peter Harvey is to leave his post following more than six years as chief executive.

"We would like to thank Peter for the excellent work he has done in raising the profile of the Association" says FLTA chairman Duncan Nealon. "In his time with us, he has overseen a number of important initiatives and has played a key role in forging strong links with trade associations representing sectors that are major users of materials handling equipment. In addition, he has worked hard to push our Safety agenda, and was a driving force in the setting up of the Fork Truck Watchdog."

Harvey joined the FLTA in August 2012 following a distinguished career with the British Army and was instrumental in the continuing success of the Annual Awards for Excellence.

On his watch, the FLTA introduced a rigorous members audit. Developed specifically for the forklift industry, it embraces safety, environmental procedures and best practice. For members, it confirms that FLTA members operate to standards demonstrably higher than non-compliant companies while for customers it provides traceability, accountability and quality assurance.

It is in the area of workplace safety, however, where he made his mark.

An enthusiastic advocate of the HSE initiative Helping Britain Work Well, he enhanced the size, scope and status of the National Fork Truck Safety Conference, seeing it named Conference of the Year in the 2015 Best Practice Awards. In parallel with this, he oversaw the creation of Safetember - a UK-wide month of action and information aimed at cutting the number of forklift-related accidents.

The Association is actively seeking a replacement and hopes to make an announcement as soon as possible.