Forklift Legislation in the UK

Like any vehicle, a forklift Platform is a dangerous weapon that can be deadly in the wrong hands. Due to the fact forklifts are used in confined spaces, in close proximity to workers, who in turn are working with stock, often stacked high up in the warehouse, it’s important that there’s strict legislation in place to ensure the health and safety of workers.

The main legislation which affects owners and also users of lift trucks is the 1974 Health and Safety at Work Act.

The 1974 Health and Safety at Work Act was first published in 1974 and then became law on April 1^st 1975. The act was introduced to place an onus on employers to take steps, which are reasonable, and practicable to look after the health and safety and welfare of their employees whilst at work.

Furthermore, many years later, in 2008 the government introduced a new law of Corporate Manslaughter, which was aimed at companies, and directors of companies where someone is killed due to an accident at work. This law made it possible to punish companies and directors who have failed to take reasonable care to ensure the health and safety of their employees at work.

The Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations came about on 5^th December 1998. This was an update from the 1992 regulations. Under these provisions employers are required to:

• Ensure work equipment is constructed or adapted for the purpose it’s used for.
• Consider the working conditions and risks to health and safety
• Make sure the work equipment is used only for those operations and under conditions for which it is suitable.
• Make sure the work equipment is maintained in an efficient state.

There are more elements to this regulation which can be reviewed on the HSE website. The HSE have a diverse range of publications relating to legislation, which includes forklifts. These include:

• Safe use of work equipment provision and use of work equipment regulations 1998

• Safe use of lifting equipment, lifting operations and lifting equipment regulations 1998

• Safety in working with lift trucks

• Rider-operated lift trucks: operator training approved code of practice and guidance
• Safety in the use of pallets

• Working platforms on fork lift trucks

• Health and safety in engineering workshops

• Warehousing and storage – A guide to health and safety

• Fire safety risk assessment – factories and warehouses

• Control of diesel engine exhaust emissions

As you can appreciate, there is a huge amount of legislation and regulation surrounding forklift trucks. Further detailed information can be acquired from the HSE who produce these publications.

There are also wide ranges of consultancy businesses that can also provide insight, advice and guidance on how to ensure you as a business are operating inside the law. Legislation may be a hassle, and cost time and money to ensure you are compliant. However, legislation is there for a very valid reason – to ensure the safety of your employees whilst at work.

What is a Drum Handler Attachment?

A Drum handler attachment is a specific type of forklift attachment which is designed for use on forklift trucks. They are used to turn your forklift truck into a piece of equipment which is used to handle and transport cylindrical containers (such as steel, fiber and plastic drums and barrels). Typically the attachment utilises spring-loaded metal arms to ensure a tight and very secure grip around the drum.

Drum handlers, when in the context of a forklift attachment, are typically used to efficiently (and safely) load and unload different sizes and different types of drums. They utilise clamps as well as spring-loaded arms to ensure a very secure grip to allow for safe transportation of the drums. They can also have various functions which only increase their variability and therefore overall usage potential.

These various functions include: carrier with a tilt function, carrier without a tilt function, waist type, rim type and multi-drum carrier. These all help to perform different functions with your attachment and can potentially help you with some more specific drum handling functions.

First of all, there’s the ‘tilt function’. This function helps by allowing for more maneuverability when transporting the drums, and also typically allows for easier positioning.

The ‘waist-type’ attachment is an attachment which lifts the drum by using a ‘clamp band’ which clamps down around the ‘waist’ of the drum and then can lift it. This can be a lot easier than the traditional spring-mounted arms method as it provides an alternative way of lifting the drum so it depends on how you’re looking to lift your drum; this clamp allows for more leeway and easier re-positioning than the spring-loaded arms, so it really just depends on how you want to setup your attachment with your forklift forthwith how you wish to transport the drum.

Therefore, when you end up choosing your drum handler attachment, be sure to choose the correct type with the correct function that you would like, as each function lends itself to a more specific role based upon your needs. This will save you money in the long run and will help you complete your job better with the use of a forklift truck.

Contact Ltd has manufactured various different kinds of drum handlers. We offer the peak in terms of quality forklift attachments, and our website http://www.forklift-attachments.co.uk provides details on what we can offer, but please call us for a quote.

Why Choose a Forklift Attachment?

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Many people think of Forklifts in a very one-dimensional manner; as vehicles which are used (and solely used) for picking up items and raising/lowering items. This was originally the intended design of the forklift truck, but the reality is that, with the help of creative minds, there have been numerous ‘attachments’ which fit snugly onto the forks of the truck and can give it a lot of variety in terms of the number of jobs they are capable of.

Forklift Attachments can vary, from turning the forklift into a mini-digger truck to turning it into a snow-plough and even more. The invention of forklift attachments have really allowed forklift trucks to come to the forefront of vehicles often used by a lot of companies and as such, forklift attachments have also become increasingly important to the forklift truck; a symbiotic relationship in the machine world.

So, why choose a forklift attachment over buying a new machine? Firstly, the cost is a major factor. Why buy a new machine for each little job you have to do when you can buy a forklift truck and various different forklift attachments for it? You save plenty of money and, assuming you buy from a manufacturer who is well known for the manufacturing of said forklift attachments, the quality doesn’t fade too much over time so you have a multi-tasking forklift truck at a fraction of the price that it would cost to gather all the other machines put together. You’ll also be able to get all the jobs done in the same timeframe!

The above factor alone should be enough to justify why forklift attachments are worth it; but as well as this there’s the mobility factor. Typically, purpose-built machines are slightly larger than a forklift truck, and therefore can be considered less mobile. If the just absolutely requires the larger machine, this is understandable, but more often than not a forklift truck with an attachment will suit the job at hand and the added mobility that is provided allows the job to be done just as quickly, if not even faster than it normally would be done. Overall, forklift attachments are a very good solution to your industry needs.

Contact Ltd has manufactured various different kinds of forklift attachments. We offer the

 peak in terms of quality forklift attachments, and our website http://www.forklift-

attachments.co.uk provides details on what we can offer, but please call us for a quote.