News & Events

News & Events

Forklift Truck (FLT) Blog

Forklift Trucks are an essential piece of heavy equipment used for moving and lifting heavy materials over short distances. Also known as lift truck, jitney, hi-lo, fork truck and fork hoist, the forklift truck is a powered industrial truck which is indispensable in the manufacturing and warehousing industries. They are available in a variety of sizes and are usually powered by one of three sources - electricity, diesel or gas. The power source usually determines the weight of the forklift and the weight the forklift can carry. A forklift can weigh anywhere between 220 and 1450 stone.

The chassis of a forklift truck is made up of four major components. The counterweight, engine or battery compartment, driver compartment and the wheels / tires.

Operating a forklift truck poses safety hazards and it is important to only operate it after receiving the proper training

Stay up to date with all of the latest industry and legislative news relating to the safety and maintenance of workplace equipment.

We will post blogs relating to HSE prosecutions and HSE accident statistics, safety initiatives and topical events relating to equipment safety and the consequences of failing to maintain equipment at work across a wide range of industries – from farming to construction, warehousing to transport and logistics. In addition we will highlight how our Good to Go Safety inspection systems could help to improve workplace safety and help your company to reduce maintenance costs while complying with key statutory legislations such as PUWER, LOLER and WAHR.

Workplace Equipment Inspections - Construction - Farming - Warehousing
Workplace Equipment Inspections - Construction - Farming - Warehousing
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Numerous health and safety accidents or incidents occur every day due to equipment being used in the workplace that is improperly managed, maintained or is not made for the intended purpose. Industries such as farming and agriculture, factories, warehouses and construction are all high risk due to numerous equipment types being used daily. Employers are required to ensure that all the workplace equipment provided to employees is regularly inspected and maintained in safe working order. Th...


Forklift Engineer Seriously Injured during forklift servicing
Forklift Engineer Seriously Injured during forklift servicing
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A 47-year-old grandfather sustained multiple fractured vertebrae on the 14th November 2019 at a Pirelli Tyres' factory in Carlisle. The forklift truck engineer was in the process of servicing a truck when two metal skips fell from a stack of waste tyres, crushing Mr Weightman against the ground. A HSE investigation found that in order for Mr Weightman to work on the forklift truck, he had to move the truck. He was however, unaware that the truck was positioned to stabilise the skips. This...


Why you should complete daily forklift inspections
Why you should complete daily forklift inspections
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Forklift truck inspections can increase productivity by up to 25%. Additionally it will reduce breakdowns by 70% and lowers forklift truck maintenance costs by 25%. Depending on the type of forklift truck, costs and technical sophistication, a broad spectrum of maintenance strategies should be applied. A faulty forklift truck may significantly slow or completely halt your entire production process. Poor maintenance strategies can reduce the overall productive capacity of a warehouse by 5...


Worker crushed to death by overhead crane load
Worker crushed to death by overhead crane load
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A 46-year-old worker was crushed to death by two granite slabs whilst working for Graniteland Limited at the company’s Lyde Green site in Halesowen. An investigation by the HSE (Health and Safety Executive) found that the incident which occurred on the 30th November 2020 could have been avoided with the correct training and maintenance procedures. The investigation found that Robert Czachracz, who was from Poland, had been moving the granite slabs onto storage racks, using an over...


Show your Forklift Trucks some love on Valentines Day
Show your Forklift Trucks some love on Valentines Day
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Show your Forklift Trucks some love on Valentines Day (and forever) - Give them quick pre-drive inspections to make sure they're doing ok ❤️ Monitoring all your forklifts and assessing their environments with regular (pre-use / pre-move) forklift safety inspections will help achieve a safer workplace environment for employees. Pre-use / pre-move forklift checklists will not only increase the likelihood of spotting a fault early before it deteriorates further, but it also provides employees ...


How to save time and money with effective equipment maintenance
How to save time and money with effective equipment maintenance
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On average, predictive maintenance increases productivity by 25%, reduces breakdowns by 70% and lowers maintenance costs by 25%. Depending on the type of assets, costs and technical sophistication, a broad spectrum of maintenance strategies should be applied. One failing machine may halt the whole production process. Poor maintenance strategies can reduce the overall productive capacity of a plant by 5 to 20 percent. “Predictive maintenance increases equipment uptime by 10 to 20% while re...


Forklift Safety - a simple reminder
Forklift Safety - a simple reminder
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Monitoring all your workplace equipment (such as forklifts) and assessing working environments with regular (pre-use / pre-move) inspections will help achieve a safer workplace environment for employees. Pre-use / pre-move inspections will not only increase the likelihood of spotting an equipment fault early before it deteriorates further, but it also provides employees with regular reminders of their safe working practices and ensures your company complies with PUWER and Health & Safety policie...


National Forklift Safety Day 2023
National Forklift Safety Day 2023
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In the UK, we bear witness to over 1300 fork lift truck accidents every year, which means on average there are five accidents every workday in the UK that involves a forklift. In the US there are over 35,000 serious injuries every year due to forklift operation and OSHA (The Occupational Safety and Health Administration) estimates that over 70% of these incidents were preventable. It’s easy to lose sight of safety in the rush of everyday life, thats why Forklift Safety Day is so important...


Mechanic saves eight lives
Mechanic saves eight lives
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Eight lives were saved after Joseph Robinson, 39, a mechanic from Clitheroe donated his body for organ donation. This inspiring, yet tragic story started on the 13th October 2020 at the site of E. Jackson Limited in Salthill Industrial Estate, Clitheroe, where Joseph Robinson was working as a mechanic. On that day, Joseph was attempting to fix a steering fault on the firms forklift truck."Joe was always going to be a mechanic. As a little boy he loved to take things apart, see how they worked...


What can you inspect with TakeAIM?
What can you inspect with TakeAIM?
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TakeAIM is supplied with a number of pre-installed checklists for the most popular equipment types used for work. If TakeAIMs range of pre-loaded inspections don't have the equipment type you require, you can create your own equipment type on the TakeAIM dashboard. This enables you to create inspections, and ask the detailed question required for even the most unique piece of workplace equipment. If you'd like to see the equipment types available, plus what is included on each checklist you c...


LPG Forklift Truck Safety Alert
LPG Forklift Truck Safety Alert
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The UK Material Handling Association have recently released their latest Safety Alert which looks at cold starting an LPG truck engine. This Safety Alert has been issued following some reports of users of LPG powered trucks experiencing issues with the start-up process. David Goss, UKMHA Technical Director, explains, “Investigations into the root cause are ongoing, but instances where a build-up of deposits in the evaporator (pressure regulator), flow regulator and shut-off valve have been id...


Even Santa uses TakeAIM
Even Santa uses TakeAIM
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When it comes to checklists, there's no one more proficient than Santa. He has a checklist for good, a checklist for bad and since he found TakeAIM, he's managing them all digitally. Here's what Santa said about TakeAIM: As the Holiday season approaches, billions of people World-wide begin counting down the days until they can enjoy family get-togethers, gift giving and / or time off work, ho ho ho. As Christmas approaches some businesses begin to wind down as others see an influx of ...


The Most Common Forklift Accidents and How to Prevent Them
The Most Common Forklift Accidents and How to Prevent Them
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Every year in the UK there are hundreds of serious injuries, including fatalities, to forklift truck operators and pedestrians, which could have been prevented if staff were properly trained and followed safe systems of work. Within the material handling industry alone, there are over 1,300 forklift truck accidents a year, which means on average there are five accidents every workday in the UK. When we look at statistics from the United States, these numbers are even more staggering with ...


Factory and Warehousing Safety Tips
Factory and Warehousing Safety Tips
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Factories and warehouses have numerous health and safety risks. If you fail to manage them, your business may face a number of different issues such as lost working days, injuries and in the worst case scenario, fatalities. As an employer, you are legally required to implement and maintain procedures that minimise these risks. Safety measures must protect workers from factory and warehousing hazards and enable workers to carry out their jobs safely. Maintaining good safety will not...


Improve your inspection and maintenance process
Improve your inspection and maintenance process
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Inspections and maintenance of workplace equipment such as forklifts, ladders, pallet trucks, racking etc is a vitally important process to ensure equipment remains in a safe condition. Now we've made keeping track of maintenance and inspection schedules even easier with our range of inspection and maintenance stations. You can ensure your employees have access to their pre-use equipment checklists at all times by providing them with a central location to store their checklists. When employee...


Worker falls from Forklift Truck
Worker falls from Forklift Truck
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A worker of a carpentry and joinery company fell 11.5 feet from an unsecured stillage on the forks of a fork-lift truck in order to clean office windows at height. The company "Staircraft Group Limited" were fined on 14 June 2021 after an investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found the company failed to identify that using a stillage to lift someone on the forks of a forklift truck was unsafe. As a result of the incident, the worker (whose name is unknown) sustained a broken...


4 Million Inspection Checklists Sold
4 Million Inspection Checklists Sold
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To date, Good to Go Safety have supplied over 4 million checklists to companies around the UK. If you don’t currently know about our multi-award winning inspection systems, you may be wondering why so many people insist on utilising Good to Go Safety rather than simply printing their own checklists in-house? The answers are numerous …. 1. Safety First From a safety perspective, there is a requirement under PUWER (Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations), LOLER (Lifting Operation...


Managing Warehouse Equipment
Managing Warehouse Equipment
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Thorough inspections of all equipment are required under Health and Safety law: LOLER 1998 & PUWER 1998 Asking employees to conduct pre-use checks before using forklifts, pallet trucks, racking, ladders or other warehouse equipment is not only a smart and responsible policy to enforce, but is also required by law. With our easy-to-use walk-through checklists it only takes a short time to ensure that warehouse equipment is safe to use. Not only will it ensure equipment is safe to use but it...


Boss jailed for ignoring HSE notices
Boss jailed for ignoring HSE notices
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The boss of a car salvage yard has been jailed for a year after ignoring 15 safety notices. A report from a forklift examiner in November 2018, which unearthed a Category A defect on a forklift, prompted a visit from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and resulted in Tahir Karim being sent to jail. The failings at Long Life Spares in Caerphilly, south Wales, included forklift trucks with defective brake mechanisms and broken mast chains [part of the lifting mechanism], investigating ins...


HSE inspection campaign sheds light on health and safety issues
HSE inspection campaign sheds light on health and safety issues
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Last week 22 inspectors from HSE’s Yorkshire and North East Field Operations teams inspected 71 businesses in the Sheffield and Rotherham area. Of those visited 46 companies needed to make improvements to better protect the health, safety and wellbeing of workers in metal fabrication, engineering, general manufacturing and waste and recycling sectors. During the course of the week, inspectors served three prohibition notices and 31 improvement notices. Examples of some of the breaches found i...


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