 The FLTA is making free resources available ahead of its National Forklift Safety Week. |
The Fork Lift Truck Association (FLTA) is making a collection of safety resources available free to supervisors who it says are "too often the weak link" in promoting a safe work environment.
FLTA CEO David Ellison says busy managers lack the necessary awareness to implement and enforce safe working practices. "British workers are killed or hospitalised by forklifts literally on a daily basis. The risks those frontline staff face are influenced very significantly by the decisions their supervisors make.
"However, those managers can be very busy, perhaps with several areas of responsibility. Often they have no formal forklift safety training and, as a result, are less able than their employees to understand potential risks or spot dangerous working habits," he explains.
To help address the issue, the FLTA is offering a downloadable PowerPoint presentation and Good Practice Checklist at its website
www.fork-truck.org.uk.
Ellison says although accident figures have fallen since the association's Safety Week inception, the forklift is "by far the most dangerous category of workplace transport".
He hopes that by encouraging managers to take safety more seriously, the injury toll could drop even more. "From casual agency staff to the managing director, who influences policies, budgets and an organisation culture, everyone has a crucial role to play."
Forkliftaction.com News readers can receive a free pack of safety resources, vouchers and information valued at GBP25 by emailing their name, position and company to the FLTA at
mail@fork-truck.org.uk.