by Rachel Gearon | Jul 21, 2022 | Industry news, Training courses
1,500 injuries are caused by forklifts and other industrial vehicles every year. Whilst unavoidable accidents can happen, many accidents occur because of poor operation or negligence – things that can be easily avoided.
Overloading a forklift truck is a key example of negligence which can cause unnecessary danger and accidents. Overloading a forklift truck results in the forklift tipping and falling, which causes damage to both the vehicle and stock but most importantly, the individual operating it.
Nearly one in every four fatalities occur when forklifts tip over. Forklifts can easily tip if they are overloaded, if the load is not well balanced, or if they travel with the forks too high.
Don’t push the limits
Most forklift operators understand the capacity of the machines they use and the importance of sticking to them. However, it is not uncommon for those who operate forklifts on a regular basis to become less strict with their weight load over time, attempting to put a little extra weight on to pallets or try to estimate the load sizes rather than weighing them.
Counterbalancing loads
Counterbalance forklifts are designed to balance the weight of the forks plus the load with the weight of the truck itself held by the back axle. With the weight of the truck offsetting the load, specific limits are required to keep the back of the forklift heavier, and the back wheels firmly on the ground.
When a forklift is static it may look balanced with its rear wheels on the ground, but add speed, turning, lifting and moving into the mix and this is when your counterbalanced weight will feel the effects. This is then worsened by things like terrain and incline.
Establish weight loads
Once you establish the load capacity, you should always strive to ensure you only load the forklift with loads within this. The weight of the load can be found by its labelling, or by manually using a weight scale.
If you’d like to ask us any questions about this, or need help training your staff to operate safely, please call us on 01793 975353 or email @ david.gearon@keyperformancetraining.co.uk.
by Rachel Gearon | Jul 14, 2022 | Employment & skills, Training courses
The Health and Safety Executive have recently handed out several large fines to companies who failed to implement health and safety measures concerning pedestrians and truck operators.
Sadly, two cases involved fatalities where pedestrians were struck by a forklift truck and a telehandler and later died from their injuries.
In both cases, the employees were simply walking around their business premises – the companies did not provide suitable and sufficient control measures to ensure that pedestrians and vehicles could circulate in a safe manner. This led to them being fined a total of £260,000.
Speaking after one case HSE Inspector Connor Gibson said “The tragic outcome of this incident clearly highlights why duty holders must ensure that vehicle and pedestrian movements at their work site are properly assessed and adequately controlled. This fatal incident could and should have been prevented via suitable and sufficient control measures segregating pedestrians from vehicle movements.”
Speaking after the hearing of another, HSE Inspector Sarah Taylor said: “Pedestrians and vehicles need to be kept apart at all work sites. This incident could so easily have been avoided by simply segregating vehicles and pedestrians.”
Are you aware of your Health and Safety obligations? Are your employees trained to operate forklift trucks to the necessary standard? Have you had near misses that could have led to a serious accident?
Speak to us to get your business training obligations back on track.
Contact David.gearon@keyperformancetraining.co.uk or call us for more information on 01793 975353
by Rachel Gearon | Jul 7, 2022 | Employment & skills, Our News, Training courses
Key Performance Training is pleased to announce our next First Aid 3-day course is now available for bookings.
The course is running from 15th August – 17th August 2022 at our training centre in Swindon. Lunch and refreshments are provided.
Our Ofqual accredited course has limited spaces, so please contact us as soon as possible to secure your place – david.gearon@keyperformancetraining.co.uk or 01793 975353.
by Rachel Gearon | Jun 23, 2022 | Our News
Swindon mayor Abdul Amin has officially opened our new forklift training centre in Kembrey Park.
He even took part in a flip-flop throwing contest as the opening took place on National Flip Flop Day although centre manager David Gearon made it clear the flip flops were for fun only – and not suitable footwear in the workplace!
“It was a lovely event and we’re thrilled that Swindon’s mayor and his wife found time in their busy schedule to officially open our doors. He really entered into the spirit of the event and was a pretty good shot when it came to throwing flip flops!” David said.
We have seen growth in demand for our forklift training services which meant that our previous premises were no longer fit for purpose. Our family business is the only lift truck training centre in Swindon, providing forklift training to men and women looking for work or who want to expand their skill set. In addition, we offer training in first aid, health and safety, and courses for fire marshals and wardens.
David said: “The new site gives us so much more scope to expand and work with more people. It’s already proving its worth and we are able to offer more courses for individuals and for other companies in and around the town.”
We are approved by the RTITB (Road Transport Industry Training Board) as a training centre and as such can help businesses in the area maintain licences, knowledge and skills that are needed for their continued development and success.
We’ve also now added an additional truck, the Pivot Steer (or Bendi as it’s sometimes known) to complement training with our existing counterbalance and reach trucks. It was this truck which provided the ‘hook’ for the flip flop throwing contest on opening day.
“The winner of the flip flop throwing contest was Howard Feather of Be More Effective and he won an Amazon Echo, a bottle of Prosecco and a box of chocolates. All of the flip flops were then donated to Refuge.”
In addition, we have plans to offer further services in the future, including finance options, to make its training courses even more accessible. For more information, please contact david.gearon@keyperformancetraining.co.uk
by Rachel Gearon | Jun 9, 2022 | Our News
Key Performance Training are holding our launch event on Friday 17th June 2022!
Please join us for some fun, some food and the chance to win some prizes!
We’ll donate £5 to every person who registers and attends on the day, so please book your slot – https://keyperformancetraining.co.uk/brunch-event/
Contact us on 01793 975353 or david.gearon@keyperformancetraining.co.uk for more info
