As part of its ongoing commitment to promote good safety protocols throughout the material handling industry, the UK Material Handling Association will be marking its official launch in conjunction with this year’s National Forklift Safety Day (NFSD).
NFSD 2021 takes place on Tuesday 8th June and is being promoted for the first time by the UK Material Handling Association, the new voice in UK material handling formed by the merger of the industry’s two most respected trade associations – BITA (British Industrial Truck Association) and the FLTA (Fork Lift Truck Association).
As promoting good safety standards within the material handling industry is one of the UKMHA’s core goals, it has opted to use 8th June for its own launch event so that it can highlight to an engaged audience just how it will be helping the industry moving forward.
It has planned a live webinar for the day where senior management will outline why the material handling industry plays such a key role in the UK economy. They will also outline how the association will work, what its objectives are and how the merger is intended to strengthen the offering of the combined organisations, enhancing the services delivered to members and all those who own and operate forklift trucks.
“The arrival of the UK Material Handling Association is a gamechanger for the industry and with our strong focus on improving safety standards, we could not have a better day to celebrate our formation than National Forklift Safety Day,” said UKMHA CEO, Tim Waples.
For the 2021 NFSD campaign, the new body has chosen to focus on the importance of accredited Thorough Examination. The campaign will coincide with the publication of an updated BITA GN28 – the industry approved guideline on Thorough Examination and Safety Inspection of Industrial Lift Trucks in accordance with the provisions of LOLER (Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations) 1998 and PUWER (Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations) 1998.
The campaign could not be timelier. As industry emerges from the latest COVID-19 lockdown, companies reliant on material handling equipment must ensure their MHE is in good condition with no dangerous defects or deterioration.
David Goss, Technical Director, UK Material Handling Association said: “If MHE has been idle during lockdown, then management has a responsibility to ensure it is safely recommissioned and the best way of ensuring this is to have the equipment examined by a suitably qualified competent person.”
Best practice is to put the equipment through a Consolidated Fork Truck Services (CFTS) inspection known as Thorough Examination.
Thorough Examination is the name given to the mandatory inspection required by law to ensure that the lifting equipment is in safe working order. It is roughly equivalent to the MOT for cars.
Further information on the campaign will be posted to the National Forklift Safety Day website www.nationalforkliftsafetyday.co.uk. The portal also hosts a wealth of information on the 2019 and 2020 campaigns, both of which remain relevant to good lift truck safety.
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