Pre-use checks are crucial to ensuring your trucks are in safe working order, providing a regular opportunity to identify any issues before they lead to more serious and costly problems.
The responsibility for carrying these out falls to you as the operator. We need to understand the importance and practicalities of completing these checks regularly and correctly.
So why is it important that you carry out these checks?
- How do we carry out and record them?
- What should we do if you identify a defect?
Let’s look at these in more detail:
1. Why is it important that operators carry out these checks?
This comes down to compliance, cost and safety Most importantly for operators, quick and early detection of a fault could avoid an incident and possible injuries to yourself or those around you.
For the operator, even if no one is hurt, they, repairs, disruption and damage could be very costly. Common faults that can cause serious issues if left unchecked are to hydraulics, resulting in a potential oil burst and mass clean-up operation, and to wheels/tyres, where debris caught around bearings causes them to heat up and fail. Each could cost as much as a four-figure sum to fix once you take damage, repairs and delays into account.
And aside from these justifications, you have to ensure your forklift trucks are properly maintained and inspected at suitable intervals by law, to make sure they remain in safe condition. So it’s vital that these checks are carried out as per your company policy, from a compliance perspective.
2. How do we the operator carry out and record them?
It’s recommended that pre-use checks should be carried out by the operator when they take control of a forklift truck. Only by conducting a Pre-operational check can we sure that the truck is up to the tasks we would expect of it but it will also encourage us to take responsibility for own own safety (and that of those around them).
Typically, your forklift inspection should include the following areas:
• Tyres and wheels
• Brakes, steering and lifting systems
• Fluid levels
• Battery and charger
• Hydraulics
• Overhead guard
• Forks
• Accessories and aids
• Chains
A good system will not only allow the operator to record their findings, it will also display to others whether the truck was found safe/unsafe to use at its last inspection.
3. What should we do if you find a defect?
The guidance provided in L117 states that the operator must report to a supervisor any defects which might affect the safe operation of the truck, to ensure they are put right. Until they are rectified, the truck should not be used.