For many years the ‘grey’ market for European imports of forklift trucks has been a bone of contention and it seems that concern is growing as buyers seek to cut costs in recessionary times by sourcing ‘grey’ imports on the global market. There are three problems surrounding the non-compliance with EU truck regulations: undermining of EU truck producers, safety and law breaking.
Some of the ‘grey’ market truck producers lack a proper understanding of the rigorous testing a truck requires to comply with CE marking. Just what role this plays in non-compliance and what is deliberate is impossible to say but how serious is the non-compliance issue?
Simon Brown, MD of Bendi, says “non compliant products should not make it to end users.” Even so, they do. The selling company is responsible as the European entity to carry the liability for the design and manufacture. It will not be until an incident that involves health and safety arises will it be picked up and that the true cost of non-compliance will be faced by both parties.
To protect themselves, truck users could consult the new website, http://machinery-surveillance.eu which supports operators and market surveillance authorities by providing the technical documentation needed to identify non-compliant equipment, and the contact details of EU associations charged with promoting market surveillance.
Trevor Clifton, chairman of BITA’s Technical Policy Committee, says it is easy to spot potentially suspect trucks through clues on the CE certificate, and whether the truck’s engine plate has current emission data. BITA also continues to advise and provide guidance both to members and freight inspectors responsible for UK border controls.
The obligations on importers, distributors and end users are much more exacting than they once were. The technical documentation that must be made available will trace the entire line of distribution from producer to end user. Purchasing managers should ask for confirmation of compliance before agreeing a contract with a supplier. A good suggestion would be to add to the contract of sale a clause confirming compliance with the Machinery Directive.
In an industry where 25% of all workplace transport accidents involve forklift trucks there is plenty of room for safety improvements and truck compliance does not, of course, only apply to new products but also second-hand which at time of manufacture were fully EU conforming but through wear and tear and inadequate inspection could breach the law. A problem here is that users make the wrong assumptions over what is covered by the ‘Thorough Examination,’ a legally binding annual requirement. The answer lies in two separate pieces of legislation: PUWER 98 and LOLER 98, but some inspectors only include those items covered by LOLER, such as masts, chains and forks. To define matters clearly, Consolidated Fork Truck Services have developed an interactive online tool that identifies which parts of a forklift are covered by LOLER and which by PUWER. The site is: www.thoroughexamination.org.
Warehouse & Logistics News
Comments are closed.