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A forklift (also called a lift truck, stacker truck or a rider operated stacking truck) is a powered industrial truck used to lift and transport materials. It is one of the most dangerous means of transport and as a result all operators are required to undergo instruction in the safe use of these machines.

Candidates who have received accredited training will need to do a refresher course within 3 years for their training to remain accredited. Some companies opt to conduct “in house” training. This means that the instructor is one of their own employees and has been trained to deliver courses for the machine types he is qualified to use. This can work very well for large companies to control the quality of their employees’ driving skills but can sometimes put undue pressure on the instructor to pass trainees who are not quite up to the required standard or to shorten the course duration to suit the company’s financial or commercial requirements. The other disadvantage of “in house” training is that the “in house” trainer usually has a “day job” within the company and sometimes the company may find it difficult to release him from his normal role to conduct training courses.

Most companies choose to bring in an independent training provider to conduct accredited training either on their site or at the provider’s site. Accredited training is a formalised type of training laid out in a logical and structured sequence which is delivered by qualified instructors and endorsed by a relevant governing body. Stackers is accredited with the Road Transport Industry Training Board (RTITB) – see their website for more information www.rtitb.co.uk

Other accrediting bodies are:

• LANTRA (lantra.co.uk)
• CITB (citb.co.uk)
• ITSSAR (itssar.org.uk)
• NPORS (npors.com)
• AITT (aitt.co.uk)

You may or may not be aware that refresher training should be carried out every 3 years (on each type of truck that the employee holds a licence for). We remind customers of this by adding an ‘expiry date’ to our certificates and we have also started writing to customers in advance of their refresher training. As outlined on the Health and Safety Executive’s website, regular refresher training will ensure that operators:

maintain good driving habits;
learn new skills where appropriate;
reassess their abilities.

Refresher training or retesting may also be appropriate in the following circumstances if employees:

have not used trucks for some time;
are occasional users;
appear to have developed unsafe working practices;
have had an accident or near miss;
have changed their working practices or environment.

A refresher course can be carried out in one day and we can take up to three candidates per day. If you are interested in arranging a refresher course or would like to discuss your requirements further, please call us on 0800 024 8084.

Conversion training can be carried out when an employee already holds a licence on one type of forklift truck but needs training on another type. For example, an employee has a current counterbalance truck licence but he also needs to use the reach truck.

Instead of the usual three day novice course for the reach truck, we are able to carry out conversion training in one day for one trainee. A conversion course for two or three candidates will be two days. These timescales relate to reach, counterbalance and telescopic trucks. The timescales may vary slightly for different truck types.

If you are unsure of the type of training you require, please contact us. We are happy to talk to you about your requirements. There is no obligation to book a course. Tel: 0800 024 8084.

During the day to day operations of a Company it can be difficult to think about releasing employees to undertake a formal training course. It may appear quicker and easier for another operative to show a new employee the workings of the forklift truck but this will not be sufficient if the worst happens.

A company in Essex have found out the hard way. An employee working at a warehouse in Rayleigh was standing taking parcels from a cage when he was struck by a load carried by a forklift truck driven by another employee. He sustained a broken hip and spent a significant amount of time off work. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) revealed that the person operating the truck had received no relevant suitable training. Management were aware that the employee was operating the truck occasionally before the incident.

The company was fined £18,000 and the HSE was awarded full prosecution costs of £1,302. For the full article visit the HSE website
http://press.hse.gov.uk/2015/forklift-collision-injures-worker/

Building firm fined over Banbury forklift death

“In house” training versus Accredited Training

Why is Refresher training important?

What is conversion training?

Don’t put off forklift training