At the backend of 2011, The Fork Lift Truck Association released figures showing that the Freight Transport Industry has the worst FLT safety record in the UK, accounting for a quarter of all accidents. This figure is actually rising, showing a worrying 237% increase since 2001/2. Conversely, the closely related Storage and Warehousing industry – previously the UK’s worst for fork lift safety – saw a 77% improvement, from 308 injuries to 71, over the same time scale. On a more positive note, there has been a sustained national improvement in the fork lift safety record since the FLT Safety Week campaign was introduced.
The figures, extracted by the FLTA from RIDDOR reports published by the Health & Safety Executive, include injuries that required workers to take three days or longer off work, as well as hospitalisations and fatalities.
| Fork lift truck injuries: the most dangerous industries… | |
| Freight Transport by Road (384) | Freight Transport by Road |
| Food & Beverage Manufacturing (114) | Glass, Ceramics & Concrete Manufacturing |
| Wholesale (86) | Construction |
| Storage & Warehousing (71) | Recycling |
| Food & Beverage Retail (59) | Paper Manufacturing |
| Metal Products Manufacturing (53) | Food & Beverage Manufacturing |
| Fork lift truck injuries: the most improved major industries (% decrease since 2001/2)… | |
| Total injuries outright (2009/10) | Per fork lift truck (estimated) |
| Textile & Carpet Manufacturing | 100% (0 accidents reported) |
| Electrical Product Manufacturing | 79% |
| Storage & Warehousing | 77% |
| Metal Production | 76% |
| Motor Vehicles – Maintenance & Repair | 76% |
| Publishing | 74% |
SG World sell more Inspection documentation for Fork lift Trucks than any other piece of equipment. “We welcome the general decrease in fork lift truck accidents as it’s obviously an area our customers take very seriously. A fork lift truck is potentially the most hazardous piece of kit in the warehouse ,” commented Steve Floodgate, SG World Communications Director, “ You are manoeuvring around an enclosed space, flanked by storage racking which can come down like a house of cards in an accident scenario. Our FLT Inspection solution provides a structured working process for companies to perform regular safety checks across their FLT fleet –preventing accidents and adhering to HSE guidelines”.
The full FLTA report can be found at http://www.fork-truck.org.uk/news-sw-haulage-accident-rise.