HEALTH & SAFETY UPDATE 31
Tools & Equpiment
“If it’s too much trouble to train them, it’s too much trouble to have them in the truck.”
unauthorised person, which encourages individual employees to take greater responsibility for their own access credentials. Any trucks that are accessible should never be left unattended, even briefly. When truck are not in use they should be safely parked and shut down — for example the gas supply should be turned off. As manager, this workplace is your work place, and as such you are dutybound to ensure it is kept safe. If drivers are visiting it should be routine to confirm that they have received adequate training and have sufficient site knowledge to operate safely. Implementing a system such as our Show Your Hand system across the site will also help visiting drivers if you brief them when they arrive. It’s another step to getting everyone on the same page.
Show your hand is a simple, operator-led idea with 3 easy-to-remember parts. 1. An operator sees a pedestrian coming too close and stops their truck 2. The operator shows their hand to signal for the pedestrian to stop 3. If the pedestrian does not stop, the operator turns off the ignition until a safe distance is achieved — reducing the risk of an accident. The same preparation should be true if any of your operators find themselves needing to use lift trucks on someone else’s site. Make sure they know to familiarize themselves with the new site before operation. Don’t just rely on the manager at the other end to take care of everything. You may feel this is a bit belt-and-braces, but with forklift safety it’s always better to be over-cautious than under-prepared.
www.mentortraining.co.uk