The building trade will see high death and accident rates unless site supervisors take fork lift truck safety more seriously, according to a warning from the Fork Lift Truck Association.

The Association's National Fork Lift Safety Week campaign focused upon management and supervisor training as an important 'weak link' in the safety chain – and construction was singled out as especially at risk.

FLTA Chief Executive David Ellison said: "Supervisors on building sites have many unique challenges that come with the territory – but this should be a reason to place a higher emphasis on site safety, rather than an excuse for high accident rates."


Common difficulties with meeting fork lift best practice on many building sites include high turnover of staff, making it difficult to familiarise everyone with safety protocol, and the need to work in a changing physical environment, with no segregation of pedestrians from trucks.

The challenges aren’t restricted to new staff, either. Full-time company building trade labourers may also work on many different sites in a year – each one of which will pose unique risks, challenges, and working patterns.

Even the weather could be an issue, with builders often having to contend with wind, rain and fog in a day's work.

Mr. Ellison continued: "Building supervisors have to understand all of these issues, and compensate for them. Risk assessments will form a regular and essential part of their job and these must include fork lift truck operations.

"The more risks a trade presents, the better a supervisor has to be to prevent accidents. Builders deserve the kind of protection that only a supervisor doing their job correctly can give."

(CD)