“A Chorley company has been fined after a forklift truck (FLT) overturned on a slope trapping the driver. Manchester Magistrates’ Court heard that on 1 December 2018 an employee of Staveley’s Eggs Ltd had been driving the FLT at the company’s premises at Goosnargh Near Preston, when the truck overturned, trapping the driver between the truck and the ground, leading to him sustaining serious life-changing crush injuries as a result.
An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that the areas where FLTs were driven had significant changes in gradient which were not a suitable surface for the type of FLTs in use. The company failed to both identify and control the risk of FLT overturn. Staveley’s Eggs Ltd of Coppull, Chorley pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2 (1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act of 1974. The company were fined £60.000 and ordered to pay costs of £4259.42.
After the hearing, HSE inspector Steven Boyd commented:
“This incident could so easily have been avoided by ensuring the area where FLTs were driven was free of slopes and damage, and that a suitable FLT was used for the site. “Companies should be aware that HSE will not hesitate to take appropriate enforcement action against those that fall below the required standards.”
Source: HSE 2019/11/19 incident
Who needs a Forklift Truck Medical?
If an individual drives a Forklift Truck (FLT) vehicle or any other similar vehicle, they need to make sure they familiarise their selves with the risks.
It is the employer’s job to make sure their employees are safe at work and an FLT Medical at Healthscreen UK Ltd can help with this.
An FLT medical can take around 45 minutes – 1 hour to complete.
The below elements are what we test for in a Forklift truck medical:
- Occupation Health Questionnaire
- General Health (Blood pressure, Urinalysis for Glucose and Ketones, Protein and Bloods)
- Audio
- Peak Flow (Full Lung required if you fail the peak flow)
- Vision
- Musculoskeletal / Mobility
- Drug and Alcohol (At the request of the client)
If you pass all of the above elements you will receive an FLT Certificate which can last up to 3 years depending on the individual’s age and medical conditions.
Legislation
Forklift Truck Medicals fall under the following legislation:
- Management of Health & Safety at Work Regulations 1999
- Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998
“You should always judge a person’s fitness for operating a vehicle on a case-by-case basis. You aim to match the requirements of the driving task with the fitness and abilities of the driver.
For most work, a standard equivalent to Group 1 will be appropriate. In some cases, however, a more stringent standard may be required, for example, when:
- moving highly toxic or explosive materials;
- working in a particularly demanding environment;
- working at night; or
- operating large, heavy vehicles.
In these instances, some or all of the medical standards equivalent to Group 2 may be appropriate.
Assessing fitness individually should help ensure that people with disabilities are not disadvantaged. Some people with disabilities have developed compensatory skills. Reasonable adjustment to work equipment may enable a disabled person to operate workplace transport safely. However, you must always think about their competence in an emergency. The Equality Act of 2010 is likely to apply.”
Source: https://www.hse.gov.uk/workplacetransport/personnel/medicalfitness.htm
