Forklift safety has been firmly in the spotlight this June with the marking of National Forklift Safety Day in both the UK and the US.

Illustrating the inherent complexity of keeping people safe in multi-faceted, densely populated, fast-moving industrial settings such as materials handling operations, the reality is that safety is never a single-focused, one-size-fits-all or set-and-forget phenomenon.

Looking across the Forkliftaction website, there have been a number of safety themes highlighted for the materials handling community.

Here’s a quick roundup of four key safety ideas for operations to keep front-of-mind:

The human element should remain our core focus for safety

During its 13th annual day of forklift safety awareness in the US, the Industrial Truck Association (ITA) chose to remind the materials handling community to realign with the basics.

Amidst the acceleration of the automation market and rapidly evolving operational environments, the association placed its emphasis on the non-negotiable, human-centred responsibilities of “comprehensive operator education and proactive daily equipment checks”.

President of the ITA, Brian Feehan, said: “As the material handling landscape rapidly adopts new technologies and automated solutions, the human element remains our most critical asset”.

“Safety cannot be a secondary priority; it must be incorporated directly into the culture of every warehouse, manufacturing floor and distribution centre across the country.”

Joe Bolduc, a safety specialist at Velocity Maintenance, talks further on the integral role that a genuine culture of safety can play in healthy materials handling operations in his Your Focus blog.

He asserts that a key step in building this type of culture is understanding the difference between “compliance” where people follow the rules because they have to, and “commitment” where people work safely because they believe in it.

For the driving forces behind a commitment attitude, Joe looks to the research from Dr E Scott Geller, alumni distinguished professor at Virginia Tech for guidance on five behaviour-based safety ideas to put into action.

Forklift technician safety – not to be overlooked

Within its 2026 National Forklift Safety Day campaign, the UK Material Handling Association (UKMHA), turned its focus to forklift technician safety.

According to the association, the safety of forklift technicians is a serious issue that needs addressing. According to the UKMHA website, statistics indicate that in the UK, 85% of the incidents that result in workplace injuries to technicians occur when technicians are working at customers’ premises, “more often than not due to everyday tasks like manual handling or poor site conditions”.

To aid awareness and the training needed to be safer around the workplace, the association prepared a number of industry resources available on its website.

We asked the technicians in Forkliftaction’s technical forums if they had any thoughts on technician safety and workplace injuries:

Forum user @ John_Bradley  said:

“I have had some close calls and have known several techs that had some close calls and have been injured by truck drivers, lift operators and just customers’ employees and the tech not paying attention causing injury and limb loss…One of our techs was working in a ‘secure area’ and was replacing a starter on a lift when an operator driving with an extra tall load, and driving forward, ran into the lift pushing it through a wall. The tech was lucky enough to have seen him and got from under the lift, just as the other lift hit it…My point is not only the tech but anyone around you can cause an accident. Be alert of your safety as well, as other lift trucks are more dangerous than most realize, especially when doing repairs - please stay safe.”

Forum user @ Scott_ said:

“Big dealers try to avoid an accident at any cost. They hire a dedicated safety team that makes sure that the tech on the road has all safety equipment on board… correct shoes, clothing, safety glasses, and harness, tether, wheel chocks, cones, vest and so on. When the tech gets to the job site he or she must make sure that there is nothing that would cause them to get hurt on the floor where they will work. If possible, move to a spot where there is no one around. I believe that most accidents happen from other drivers not seeing the tech or hitting into him or her. The safety team will randomly go to the job site to make sure the tech has set up everything for safety before working on the truck…”  

Read more or join in the discussion here.

A spotlight on forklift hazard perception 

In support of this year’s National Forklift Safety Day, Mentor Training launched its Forklift Hazard Perception Challenge, a series of free videos featuring realistic warehouse scenarios that were filmed in a large-scale distribution setting, from an operator’s perspective. 

The videos encourage viewers to identify potential hazards while navigating a warehouse environment, both on foot and from the driver’s position on the truck.

Commercial director at Mentor Training, Adam Smith, believes that people undertaking the challenge “may find it surprising just how little forklift operators can see from their seat!”

Making a similar point about the nuance of discernment when it comes to hazard prevention, corporate safety trainer at TrainMOR, Russ Niedzwiecki, explored forklift tip-over accidents in his latest Your Focus blog.

He teases out the tiny, moment-to-moment judgments that forklift operators rely on to negotiate the frequently shifting conditions around them, and how quickly the line from “everything looks right” to “unacceptable risk” can move without being noticed.

Safety extends beyond preventing physical harm 

Driving awareness about the profound impact of psychosocial risks on the industry, Australia’s Healthy Heads in Trucks and Sheds has announced it is rolling out its Thrive program for the warehousing, logistics and road transport sectors.

The pilot program helps businesses better manage psychosocial risks in the workplace while supporting proactive steps toward stronger workplace mental health, greater resilience, and safer outcomes for drivers, warehouse teams and logistics crews. 

Arthur Papagiannis, founder and CEO of AP Psychology & Consulting Services, states: “People working across the industry are exposed to a unique combination of psychosocial hazards, including fatigue, high job demands, isolation, trauma exposure and ongoing operational pressure”.

In May, a landmark Federal Budget investment was announced to scale mental health and wellbeing support across Australia’s transport, warehousing, and logistics sectors, in what was described by Healthy Heads chair Paul Graham as a turning point for a workforce which has been overlooked for too long. 

The funding will focus on two major national initiatives:

• An expansion of the Healthy Heads Road Show, increasing from around 40 events per year to more than 100, reaching over 10,000 workers annually across metro, regional, and remote Australia. 
  
  
• A dedicated research project to quantify and address suicide among Australian truck drivers and implement evidence-based prevention strategies. 

Reflecting on the significance of the investment Graham said: “This is a sector of more than 745,000 Australians that has ranked last for workplace mental health for years. This investment acknowledges that reality and does something about it.”

What we can take away 

What is evident from our June coverage is that the materials handling safety landscape is continuously evolving, and it is an area where nuance is needed to understand the complexities of both high-pressured environments and human behaviour.

Forkliftaction will continue to cover health and safety within the sector week in, week out, from legislative changes to groundbreaking initiatives, alongside new safety technologies and expert advice.