Until recently, no UK training standard existed for managers and supervisors tasked with overseeing fork lift operations despite such training being a requirement of the HSE’s approved code of practice and guidance for fork lift trucks.
AITT Managing Director Dave Sparrow said, “Many of those responsible for overseeing lift truck operations have little or no experience of how they operate. This is compounded by the assumption that since they’ve never had an accident or even a close call, it won’t happen to them. Unfortunately, without adequate training, they’re unlikely to realise their safety deficiencies until a near miss – or worse.”
The framework has already been adopted and implemented by the UK’s leading training provider Mentor.
Stuart Taylor, Managing Director of Mentor said more than half the managers attending the course had never operated a fork lift or knew how they should be operated safely and that he hoped AITT’s initiative would see this change.
Photo: The AITT Standard is the first of its kind in the UK.