CFTS may have marked its 10th anniversary this year, but it continues to go from strength to strength – consistently showing signs of growth as more and more fork lift truck employers seek out thorough Thorough Examinations from the organisation’s more than 500 accredited companies nationwide.
CFTS Thorough Examinations were developed by the industry, for the industry, resulting in an inspection designed specifically for lift trucks: ensuring confident compliance with both LOLER 98 and PUWER 98.
LOLER and PUWER cover a vast range of 28 CONSOLIDATED FORK TRUCK SERVICE THE ANNUAL 2015/16 CFTS Thorough Examinations were developed by the industry, for the industry, resulting in an inspection designed specifically for lift trucks: ensuring confident compliance with both LOLER 98 and PUWER 98.
CFTS
CFTS CONTINUES TO GO FROM STRENGTH TO STRENGTH machinery, leaving Thorough Examination open to interpretation. LOLER applies to everything from dumb waiters to tower cranes, while PUWER deals with an even wider variety of industrial equipment. The unrivalled fork lift expertise behind the CFTS (BITA and the FLTA) ensures that the particular safety needs of lift trucks are addressed precisely and fully.
It’s important to note, therefore, that not all Thorough Examinations are the same.
For instance, how long do your fork lift truck inspections usually take? It’s not uncommon to hear of inspections taking as little as 10 to 15 minutes.
That’s simply not enough to do a thorough job.
A CFTS inspection of a small three-wheel electric truck typically takes at least 45 minutes, while a 2.5 tonne IC engine truck might take between 1.25 and 1.5 hours. As the complexity of the truck increases, the inspections grow longer. A conventional telescopic handler, for example, would take around three hours to inspect properly.
What takes up all this extra time?
The CFTS inspection is much more detailed, with a longer list of components and systems to check. The standard CFTS checklist on its own contains 33 items. Each item is expanded on, with clear instructions given in BITA Guidance Note 28 (Thorough Examination and Safety Inspections of Industrial Lift Trucks). This forms the basis for CFTS inspections. The inspection for an attachment on its own contains 18 inspection elements.
This year, to help truck users discover what’s covered by a CFTS Thorough Examination, we launched a series of free, online interactive guides. Simply hover over a part of the truck and you can find out what’s checked and, more importantly, why it’s so crucial to your truck’s safety.
How thorough is thorough?
CFTS Thorough Examinations are not just visual: they include physical checks and measurements. For example, CFTSaccredited inspectors will actually jack up the truck to examine the steering and linkages and will use a purpose-designed chain gauge to measure chain wear rather than just judging by eye or with a tape measure.
When it comes to worker safety and complying with the law, there’s no room for guesswork. A poor choice of Thorough Examination provider could result in a heavy fine, a Health and Safety Executive FFI (Fee For Intervention), or even a horrific accident and prosecution under the Corporate Manslaughter and Homicide Act. The advice from BITA and the FLTA is clear: don’t leave it to chance – insist on CFTS.
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