It’s that time of the year when forklift accidents will rise through a combination of weather conditions, much higher Christmas demand, inadequately trained temporary personnel and a failure to plan adequately for a more frenetic forklift environment. Major forklift suppliers offer guidance to avoid the problems of inadequate seasonal planning but as Alan Parsons, national rental manager at Briggs Equipment explains, his company’s research shows a sudden increase in workload can lead to a disproportionate rise in forklift accidents. “There is a lot of anecdotal evidence out there of firms risking both health and safety and their bottom line by failing to prepare properly,” he says.

A key failure here, believes Parsons, is businesses underestimating the amount of materials handling equipment they need and the suitability of their existing fleet to cope with additional demand and not be pushed beyond their limits, thus raising the risk of breakdowns and accidents. This, says Parsons, is more common than problems associated with short-term staff not being completely familiar with their employers’ health and safety procedures and more experienced staff willing to cut corners to meet demanding delivery schedules. But just as it is important to have enough MHE equipment over the seasonal period it is also essential that staff numbers are adequate because they can be pushed beyond their limits and tired staff mean more accident-prone staff.

The earlier one begins to plan for seasonal changes the better but given the extra costs of meeting MHE needs it could pay to be choosy over your supplier, because these suppliers may see opportunities to make savings in the truck fleet and recommend non-truck issues that impact safety. These include preparation to avoid accidents and delays likely to be caused by poor ground conditions like large potholes and cracks. These could be worsened by snow, slush and ice so snow plough attachments and sweepers should be considered.

A forklift dealer with a nationwide engineering support programme and wide range of forklifts not dependent on one manufacturer’s brand is more likely to give the best assessment of your fleet. It comes as no surprise to Terry Kendrew, MD of Impact Handling, to see how many companies are running inappropriate or over-specified equipment. To counter this, they make a comprehensive audit the core of every customer contract as their start point and end with the creation of a pro-active maintenance programme. This writer has known examples of dealers suggesting too many trucks, the worst of which was 24 trucks that was reduced by another dealer to 17 because he included the versatile articulated forklifts in his offering.

Contract flexibility is another key issue that should be sought and offered before signing any contract. The contract should, therefore, be flexible to cope with the peaks and troughs of businesses’ operations, advises Kendrew. The long-term contract should also allow for the early replacement of equipment that the regular comprehensive fleet audit shows is no longer suitable without hitting the customer with heavy penalties. Fleet operators should also assure themselves that their suppliers have a large enough short-term hire fleet to cope with sharply increased demand at short notice.

At contract renewal times forward thinking truck operators should have one eye on environmentally-inspired pending legislation. This does not only mean that carbon emissions should be curbed but also nitrogen dioxide that sees many cities routinely break air pollution limits. It is now more viable for truck users to choose electric over diesel because they can match the performance of diesel in all conditions, thanks to big advances in battery technology and charging which shifts the cost benefit in their favour.

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