Agency workers overlooked
RTITB was saddened to hear that a young man and a company have both paid the price for yet another avoidable incident involving a forklift truck and an untrained operator.
The incident left a company with over £27,000 of costs and fines and a young man with serious injuries.
The 27 year-old male, an agency worker operating for Murfitts Industries, was manoeuvring a lift truck while the clamp attachment was raised, causing the vehicle to overturn and crush him. He now needs permanent antibiotics after having his spleen removed.
The HSE, investigating the incident in September 2012, found that the company provided training to its own staff but not agency workers. The company’s negligent “cost-cutting strategies” has actually cost them £17,000 in fines and another £10,985 after pleading guilty to breaching Regulation 9 (1) of the PUWER regulations 1998.
RTITB accredits agencies to help prevent these incidents. Although RTITB currently issues 65,000 certificates a year, these shocking stories are told all too often because some employers try to cut costs by shortening, or not even providing, training.
To comply with Regulation 9 of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment regulations 1998, employers are legally obligated to ensure a novice operator has satisfactorily completed basic training, specific job training and familiarisation training before issuing an authorisation to operate on their premises. A 5-day course costing around £450 could have saved a company over £27,000 and a young man his quality of life.
