Briggs Equipment UK: “Stop and Think!”

The fork lift truck is the backbone of British industry and one of the most remarkable, useful and adaptable tools since the taming of fire. Unfortunately, like fire, they have a track record of harming the unwary, especially those who work with them day in, day out; and none are more at risk than the hard-working maintenance engineers of the industry.

Briggs Equipment is the UK’s leading independent materials handling supplier, with a nationwide team of over 600 engineers based in the field, at customer sites and at its own depots. Every one of these engineers is committed to keeping Briggs Equipment customers’ fleets running at maximum productivity. The danger is that this commitment to customer service could lead them to overlook best safety practice or to take unnecessary risks.

Gavin Wickham, Operations Director at Briggs Equipment, says: “Our people, whether office based or customer facing, are our most important asset. They are the face of Briggs Equipment for our customers and their safety is paramount.”

At Briggs Equipment we constantly reinforce our mantra, that: “It only takes a minute to put on a piece of PPE, so use your time wisely”. The principle is simply that Briggs Equipment makes PPE available for all employees as standard, but it is up to them to assess the risks of their actions.

Gavin continues: “There’s nothing more important to either Briggs Equipment as a business, or me personally, than knowing that all of our people go home safely at the end of the day.”

The environment for mobile engineers is especially challenging, not only does the equipment vary from location to location, but also the customer’s sites are likely to vary widely from tightly managed, gated compounds to small walk-in units. Even the responsibility of engineers can vary considerably. From considering their own safety, these responsibilities can extend to workers on a customer’s site to members of the public who may be visiting or even just passing by.

This is one reason why Briggs Equipment has introduced the “Be Safe” initiative with its “Stop and Think” message.

“Briggs Equipment engineers are highly qualified and thoroughly professional. Our employees are among the best in the industry,” says Gavin. “The issue is reminding them that they are a valuable asset to Briggs Equipment, and to take as much care of themselves as they do of our customers’ fleets of trucks.”

Part of our “Be Safe” campaign has featured videos reminding engineers of their day-to-day risk exposure, and seminars that include role plays of the consequences of accidents. The knock-on effects of incidents are something that mercifully few people within Briggs Equipment, either on the front line or in managerial roles, have experienced, but playing the roles of both the injured and those responding to incidents has a useful sobering effect.

“Health and Safety has a chequered image in the minds of most people,” concludes Gavin. “It’s the last line of defence, but it should also be seen as providing the tools that enable everyone to use their heads and act safely. ‘Stop and think! It only takes a minute to put on a piece of PPE, so use your time wisely!’”