Health and Safety Executive
391 Operator restraint should be worn at all times when lift trucks are in motion unless, subject to risk assessment: ■■ the lift truck operator needs to dismount repeatedly and frequently (eg to position loads on the forks or check stock levels); ■■ the truck is used on a smooth, firm, level surface (eg concrete floor); or ■■ the truck is unlikely to be operated at speeds or in ways that could cause overturn due to the nature of the operations being carried out and the area in which it is working. 392 Operator restraint always needs to be worn in areas where the lift truck can be turned at speeds approaching maximum speed or on gradients and terrain that can lead to overturning at lower speeds. 393 Where wearing a restraint is not required throughout a site, you will need to have measures in place to indicate where lift truck operators should wear their restraint. Signs may be displayed in the lift truck or at appropriate access points to the areas where operator restraint should be worn. Also, operators should be instructed and supervised on the wearing of seat restraints. 394 Further information can be found in Fitting and use of restraining systems on lift trucks MISC241.34 Attachments 395 The risk of loads falling from the truck can be reduced by the use of suitable attachments, eg fork extensions or barrel clamps. In all cases, consult the manufacturer or the authorised dealer of the truck about the suitability of the attachment for a particular truck. The attachment should be suitable for the task, eg unclamped heavy loads should not be carried resting under gravity on a clamped load item below; this practice has led to fatal accidents. 396 Fitting an attachment, such as a clamp and including a side shift, will affect the capacity of the truck. Reducing the truck capacity to account for the effect of fitting an attachment is called de-rating. De-rating should be carried out by the truck manufacturer or an authorised dealer. The truck, when fitted with an attachment, must have a rating plate specifying the capacity of the truck when fitted with that attachment. Note that the capacity that may be marked on the attachment is not always the same as that of the combined capacity of the truck with the attachment. 397 Truck operators will require additional training on the use of such attachments. Working platforms on lift trucks 398 Work at height is a high-risk activity, the planning and selection of work equipment and safe means of access and egress and working area is important. There is a variety of equipment now available for work at height, such as mobile elevating work platforms. 399 The primary function of a lift truck, with the exception of man-up trucks (such as order pickers) is the carriage, raising and lowering of materials not people. The Work at Height Regulations 2005 place a duty on employers to select the most suitable work equipment for the task and integrated working platforms offer a higher degree of safety than non-integrated platforms. 400 There are restrictions on the circumstances in which non-integrated working platforms (ie those without operating controls in the platform) can be used on lift trucks.
Warehousing and storage: A guide to health and safety
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