Giving safety a lift
July 1st 2009

National Fork Lift Safety Week, organised by the Fork Lift Truck Association, is returning from the 21st – 27th September, to bring the need for safer fork lift conduct into the public consciousness.

The national forklift safety awareness campaign was launched in 2008 as a response to the fact that more than one British worker is killed or hospitalised by a fork lift truck every day… and that the death rate doubles in September.

Unusually, the message – "Pedestrians and fork lift trucks don't mix" – was aimed as much at bystanders and colleagues on foot as it was fork lift truck operators themselves.

This reflected the fact that as many as two thirds of those seriously injured in fork lift truck accidents are pedestrians – warehouse workers, members of the public and, frequently, delivery drivers.

Although the week attracted regional and national media coverage, the accident toll remains a major concern for the industry. Provisional figures for last year alone show over 580 people were hospitalised – or worse.

Just hours into Safety Week 2008, a worker was tragically killed at the Glendoe dam project in Scotland.

Now the Fork Lift Truck Association hopes to make National Fork Lift Safety Week 2009 even bigger and better; reaching far more people than before.

Once again, there is a simple key message for the campaign, addressed to pedestrians and truck operators alike: "Look out for each other." FLTA chief executive David Ellison explains: "This strap-line has two meanings. Firstly, it asks fork lift operators to take extra care when pedestrians are around, and not to forget they may not know the warehouse rules, and might think they have right of way.

"Secondly, it warns pedestrians to be aware of fork lift trucks and not to assume that drivers can see them. They're working under pressure and, especially with big loads, fork lift trucks have blind spots – often right in front of them.

"Overall: keep your eyes open for each other – be on the look out – but also take care of your colleagues. Make allowances for possible mistakes, and never assume they've seen you." The FLTA hopes to spread the word of fork lift safety in workplaces all over the UK – producing more free posters, resources and information, telling the story in the press, and providing plenty of opportunities for fork lift truck users and suppliers to get involved.

Health & Safety Matters will be officially working with the FLTA throughout its preparations and the week itself, so check upcoming publications for more information, or visit the FLTA's website at www.forktruck.org.uk.

Fork lift facts Last year, ten UK workers were killed by fork lift trucks.

More than 500 employees every year suffer amputations, fractures or dislocations, or need resuscitation or an overnight hospital stay, following fork lift accidents.

Fork lift trucks cause far more serious injuries in the workplace than any other kind of transport... that's more than cars and HGVs combined.

Over 1,800 people each year take three days or more off work following a fork lift-related injury in the workplace.

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