Packaging company fined after worker’s leg injury

There's absolutely no excuse for there to be any danger when working with fork lift trucks or any lifting equipment for that matter and here at Worlifts we are proud to offer great training in health and safety as well as world class service and maintenance options.

However, even given that there are plenty of places out there to get training and also the incredible amount of procedures freely available, there are still occasions when the HSE gets involved due to a lapse in judgement or just plain negligence.

This month, an Essex-based manufacturing company was taken to task over its procedures after a forklift truck was reversed into a delivery driver, fracturing his ankle.

The 44-year-old Witham man was struck by the truck as he stepped from the rear of his lorry after helping the forklift operator to reach a pallet from inside the vehicle at LP Foreman & Sons Ltd in Chelmsford on 19 August 2013. Credits: Packaging company fined after worker’s leg injury

What's more disturbing is...

The court heard it had become common practice for van drivers to instruct forklift truck operators where to place loads within their vehicles for ease of delivery. HSE found that even though this brought drivers directly into the area of the yard where forklift trucks were operating, no effective procedures had been established or training provided to ensure that workers on foot and moving vehicles were kept safely apart.

This shouldn't happen in today's world of safety, information and training and it's in the company's best interest to make sure everyone knows how to handle machinery like this.