Kenneth in action

A Swansea forklift driver has won a national forklift competition, making him the safest operator in the UK.

Kenneth Saward beat nine of the best forklift operators in the first biannual RTITB and Sumo Glove competition to be recognised as the national lift truck operator of the year.

Saward, an operator with more than 15 years' experience, says winning the competition has changed his life. "The win has put me on a new career path. Sumo Glove and RTITB sponsored me to take part in an instructor's course so I can train other people to be safe."

More than 80,000 operators were invited to take part in the competition. Saward says the first step was to demonstrate formal training as a forklift operator. "All the people who passed the basic training with good marks on the theory test were invited to take part in the competition."

The top scoring competitors from five regions then competed in practical regional finals held over five days in June/July in West Bromwich. Saward says that part of the competition tested operators' practical skills. "We had to do various tests - theory tests on safety - and we had to manoeuvre trucks on a course [and] do various lifting challenges without dropping the pallet or pushing it out of the way.

"The top two from the regional finals then went to the national finals where we did a lot of the same but a bit more difficult."

Saward won a new Ford Fiesta car. "I have never won anything in my life and this is the first competition I have entered," he says. "But I gave the car to my wife as a present."

Steven Hall, from Coventry, came second and won a luxury holiday. Third place went to Daniel Giles, from Cambridgeshire, who also won a holiday.

The competition was designed to highlight the importance of properly trained operators in enhanced workplace safety and damage reduction.

Alex Nelson, managing director of RTITB, says forklifts are potentially lethal in the wrong hands. "Something like 7,000 injuries are reported each year and this is costing industry GBP8 million (USD12.5 million) annually, which would pay for a lot of training."