More than a year has passed since the HSE introduced Fee For Intervention (FFI), a cost recovery scheme which requires businesses under HSE investigation to pay £124 per hour.
Legacy work is now drawing to a close and FFI, which is expected to generate £37 milllion per year, will begin in earnest. For businesses operating fork lift trucks, it’s never been more important to ensure your fork lift trucks are compliant by law.
Fork lift trucks are complicated pieces of mechanical handling equipment. Their Thorough Examination and maintenance are governed by two statutory instruments of legislation, LOLER 98 (Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations) and PUWER 98 (Provision and Use Of Work Equipment Regulations). These cover the Thorough Examination of all fork lift trucks and ground support equipment.
“Without a single piece of legislation exclusively for fork lift trucks, the inspection procedure for Thorough Examinations is open to a fair degree of interpretation,” says Richard Hayes, Chairman of Consolidated Fork Truck Services (CFTS) – the body behind the industry’s Thorough Examination standard. “As a result, providers are able to decide what should and shouldn’t be included.”
Are you covered?
According to CFTS, many examinations used by employers only inspect a fork lift truck’s lifting components – neglecting safety-critical parts such as steering and brakes.
“Just as you wouldn’t wear half a suit, you shouldn’t accept a Thorough Examination which only covers half of your fork lift truck,” Richard says.
CFTS believes that the problem – which affects tens of thousands of sites across the UK – is particularly prevalent where Thorough Examination is arranged as part of an annual insurance inspection.
“LOLER 98 specifically details the requirements of thoroughly examining the lifting parts of a fork lift truck, however some inspections only meet the minimum requirements of this legislation.
“This means that if your equipment is unsafe or the competent person is found to be negligent, a company may be open to prosecution under LOLER and PUWER.
“Thorough Examinations carried out by CFTS-accredited companies meet the full requirements of both LOLER 98 and PUWER 98.”
CFTS is a national Thorough Examination standard which covers the entire fork lift truck.
“It’s the positive way to be sure you’re covered for both LOLER and PUWER, and, ultimately, that the truck really is safe to use,” adds Richard.
Get the facts
A new high-impact video from CFTS explains the dangers of so-called Thorough Examinations which cover only half the truck.
Available through the CFTS website, www.thoroughexamination.org, it highlights the important considerations for those responsible for ensuring safe operations at their site.
While you’re there, why not check that your Thorough Examination provider meets the CFTS standard. Simply enter your post code in the member finder tool to confirm that your firm has received accreditation.
A number of other resources are available on the website, including answers to frequently asked questions and a calculator which determines when your next Thorough Examination is due.
Thorough Examination
Tel: 01276 502930
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