Managing lift trucks
Key messages
- Lift trucks are particularly dangerous in the workplace
- Between 2001/2002 to 2005/2006 21,190 injuries involving forklift trucks were reported. Of these 94 were fatal, 5758 were major and 15,338 resulted in people being off work for 3 or more days
- On average forklift trucks are involved in 24% of all workplace transport accidents
- Accidents involving lift trucks are often due to poor supervision and a lack of training.
Safe working with lift trucks
The Health and Safety Commission has published an Approved Code of Practice (ACOP) and guidance called Rider-operated lift trucks: Operator training.
This sets the legal minimum standard of basic training people should receive before they are allowed to operate certain types of lift truck – even if they only operate the equipment occasionally. It also provides detailed guidance about how they can meet this standard.
The ACOP covers stacking rider-operated lift trucks, including articulated steering truck types. 'Rider-operated' means any truck that can carry an operator and includes trucks controlled from both seated and stand-on positions. People who use industrial lift trucks should usually be able to move their whole body fully, to allow them to maintain good awareness of hazards all around their vehicle.
If you employ anyone to operate a lift truck covered by the ACOP, you should make sure that operators have been trained to the standards it sets out there.
The Health and Safety Commission recognises six organisations as competent to accredit and monitor training providers who train instructors and train, test and issue certificates for lift truck operators.
Resources
These organisations accredit and monitor training providers against the standards set out in the ACOP. They are:
- Association of Industrial Truck Trainers (AITT)
- Construction Industry Training Board (now called Constructionskills), whose scheme is part of the Certificate of Training Achievement Scheme (CTA) which covers many types of construction plant. HSC's recognition is only for lift truck training
- Independent Training Standards Scheme and Register (ITSSAR)
- Lantra, the sector skills council for the environmental and land-based sector
- National Plant Operators Registration Scheme (NPORS)
- RTITB
Safety in working with lift trucks, published by HSE Books, gives more more information about the standards of physical fitness, and other things you should consider when choosing lift truck operators. This guidance is also a good basis for choosing operators for other types of vehicle
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