HSE guidance suggests that employers should consider delivering refresher training every three to five years.

Logistics training specialist RTITB is urging companies to ensure their forklift drivers are up to date with refresher training as they approach the busy Christmas period.

"When operators become complacent, accidents sometimes happen and it's not just safe driving that must come under scrutiny," says Nick Welch, senior technical development executive for RTITB.

"It's not just about driving carefully, it's about segregation of vehicles and pedestrians; it's about load safety both on the vehicle and on the racking; it's about good all-round environmental awareness and guarding against the unexpected, not to mention how the machinery is maintained and checked."

Refresher training courses usually take one day and HSE guidance suggests that employers should consider delivering refresher training every three to five years. This follows the initial training that usually takes five days, depending on the equipment.

"All forms of training should be supported by effective management and supervision in the workplace," Welch says. "When not properly overseen by employees, supervisors or managers, standards can slip."

Welch believes that with refresher courses, businesses will not only increase safety in the workplace but save money in the long run. "Simply by regularly refreshing your employees' knowledge and awareness, you are ensuring that machinery runs properly, requires less maintenance and causes less damage to stock, racking and other trucks."

RTITB is the largest workplace transport training accrediting body in the UK and Ireland and is a founding member of the Accrediting Bodies Association for Workplace Transport.