The demand for trained operators is currently greater than the number of candidates available. This makes retaining trained materials handling equipment (MHE) operators a priority.

The recruitment marketplace is competitive, and this has led some companies to become reluctant to invest in accredited lift truck operator training. Not because they don’t want high standards in their team, but because operators could use that qualification to take on a role with another employer.

Transportation and Storage industry

still a dangerous place to work

Recent research has shown that transportation and storage is among the most dangerous industries to work in according to Health and Safety Executive data.

There is no better reminder of why training is so important for reducing risk and keeping people safe.

The data showed that whilst health and social work is the industry workers are most likely to become injured in, with around 10,834 incidents of worker injuries within the last year of recorded data, unfortunately Transportation and Storage came in third, with 8,059 cases of non-fatal injuries reported, with a huge rate of 171 per 100,000 employees injured at work.

The main cause of these injuries is still carrying heavy items, emphasising the importance of proper health and safety training for lifting.

What can workplaces do to reduce injury risk?

There are many measures employers can put in place, firstly it is important to be up to date with recommended guidance within your specific industry. Do you offer workers the correct tools and PPE to maximise worker safety and review your health and safety protocols on a regular basis and make sure you are adhering to the latest guidance?

We offer Health and Safety and Manual handling training – for more information please click here

For workers using machinery there must be proper training put in place beforehand to ensure they know how to operate specialist machinery. With 32,000 reported injuries caused by contact with moving machinery, we still have a long way to go to improve operational safety, including safely operating forklifts trucks.

Make sure your operators are trained correctly, with an accredited RTITB training course. For the range we offer, please click here

Ensure you provide up to date health and safety documentation within your workplace which is easily accessible for your employees. Proper safeguarding processes should also be in place to manage any risk to your workers health. If incidents do occur, you should have a clear process for reporting and documenting these.

Hopefully the insights gleaned from this research can be used to help train people correctly and help protect the health and wellbeing of those around us.

Company fined after worker spotted on pallet raised by forklift truck

A company has been fined after shocked onlookers spotted an employee precariously working from height while standing on a pallet raised by a forklift truck at Ramsgate Harbour.  The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) prosecuted European Active Projects (EAP) Limited for breaching Work at Height Regulations after one of its workers was spotted on the pallet on 8 July 2022. The workplace regulator was alerted to the activity after it was reported by a member of the public.

The worker was part of a team of three at EAP Limited that were removing work equipment from the deck of a boat in the harbour’s slipway.  As scaffolding had been removed, the workers raised a pallet to the deck with a forklift truck and used it as a mobile platform to remove items from the boat.

One of the workers was then witnessed climbing from the side of the vessel, beneath the guard rails, and onto the pallet with a heavy, motorised pressure washer. The pressure washer was then lowered to the ground.

The HSE investigation found EAP Limited had failed to plan the work at height associated with the refurbishments and repair work being completed on the boat, leaving workers at risk, with no safe method for removing equipment located on the vessel’s deck.

European Active Projects Limited, of Chatham Docks, Gillingham Gate, Chatham, Kent, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 4(1) of the Work at Height Regulations 2005. The company was fined £100,000 and ordered to pay £5,730.40 in costs at Maidstone Magistrates’ Court on 20 December 2023.

HSE inspector Samuel Brown said: “This incident demonstrates why there is a need to appropriately plan and supervise work at height. Clearly, lessons had not been learnt since the company’s previous prosecution in 2015.  Falls from height are still the biggest cause of fatal accidents involving workers.  The risk of workers falling from the pallet and sustaining serious, possibly fatal, injuries should not be ignored. Fortunately, no workers were harmed and the reporting of the incident by a concerned member of public enabled HSE to intervene and prevent any further unsafe work at height on site.”

We also think this is a perfect example of poor operator training. The operator of the truck should not have allowed a person to use the truck as a makeshift lift and under no circumstances should a forklift be used to carry a person – to any height.

Make sure your operators are trained correctly, with an accredited RTITB training course. For the range we offer, please click here