September means many things to many people, from the end of summertime to the start of the new school year. But for those working with and near fork lift trucks, it’s known as the “deadliest month of the year”.
With this in mind, National Fork Lift Safety Week will take place from the 21st until 27th September. The annual awareness campaign is driven by the Fork Lift Truck Association. It is directed at warehouse managers, fork lift truck operators, their co-workers, and the general public. The aim is to get the FLTA’s message of safe fork lift truck operations into every area where a fork lift truck is used.
Every year about four hundred workers suffer serious injuries – including amputations, fractures and dislocations – in fork lift truck accidents. Worse, fork lift trucks claim the life of a British worker once every six weeks with that rate doubling during September.
Statistics suggest as many as two-thirds of such accidents kill or injure someone who was not driving the truck at the time – meaning anybody visiting or working at the thousands of British businesses which rely on fork lift trucks could be at risk.
Accordingly, the Association’s safety message extends beyond truck operators, to work colleagues and members of the public:
Look out for each other
To protect their colleagues from harm, fork lift trucks operators are warned to:
• Be focused and vigilant
• Stay aware of their surroundings
• Pay special attention to pedestrians and anticipate mistakes
Crucially, this message is equally directed at pedestrians entering any area where fork lift trucks are in use: whether that be their workplace, a local garden centre or DIY store. They are reminded to:
• Stay alert
• Exercise caution whenever they are around fork lift trucks
• Never assume they have been seen
These pedestrians include not only co-workers, but also site visitors, van and lorry drivers making deliveries, members of the public on forecourts, and a whole host of other people who may be unaware of the dangers that fork lift trucks present, or even of basic warehouse safety rules.
FLTA Chief Executive David Ellison says: “Accidents frequently occur when drivers or pedestrians are distracted – or worse, assume they’ve been seen by the other party. It is therefore essential to concentrate at all times, and make allowances for other people’s mistakes.
“Last year, sadly, one person died in just the first few hours of National Fork Lift Safety Week. This year, we’re redoubling our efforts, and asking people to spread the safety message in all ways possible.
“We need individual staff members to demonstrate their enthusiasm for safer British workplaces. We need you to drive home the message within your company. We’re going to do all we can – now we look to you to make National Fork Lift Safety Week 2009 a resounding success.”
The FLTA has a section on its website, www.fork-truck.org.uk, with various Safety Week resources to encourage people to highlight safety in their own workplaces. It also boasts safety-related discounts and offers and free online videos during the month of September.
Those who are serious about improving their operations are also invited to attend the National Fork Lift Truck Safety Conference at Warwick University on Wednesday 30th September.
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