Food for thought

The FSDF is the sole trade body which represents and supports the interests of the entire food logistics industry. Working closely with members to identify the issues that really matter, CEO Chris Sturman and the Federation’s administration team are committed to tackling issues head on, and ensuring its members’ voices are heard by all the relevant governmental departments, NGOs, trade bodies and organisations, in the UK and Europe. 

Its purpose is to ‘promote excellence in food and drink logistics’ and it does this by providing support and advice on cost efficiencies, food safety and hygiene regulations, environmental impact and sustainability, good business practice and legislation. It also generates new business and networking opportunities, and through the organisation’s profile with Government and Local Authorities academia and working with other allied trade bodies, it ensures that the food logistics industry's interests are represented at the highest levels. FSDF also has a Primary Authority Partnership with BEIS and Slough Borough Council to ensure constant application of regulatory enforcement across the United Kingdom. 

The Federation covers the whole temperature controlled storage and distribution industry, from frozen to ambient.  With its main members from the food and drink storage and distribution sector, the FSDF also has retail, foodservice and wholesaler membership and Associate members who supply a wide range of equipment, vehicles and support services.

Leadership

As the industry is subject to stringent controls and legislation, the FSDF supports its members with professional advice and assistance on Food Safety, Health and Safety, Transport Regulations and a host of other complex legislative areas. This is delivered through specialist advisory committees and their established two-way working relationships with relevant academic research institutions and Government Departments such as Department for Transport, Defra and BEIS (the newly formed Ministry of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy). The FSDF Committees are made up of volunteers from member organisations, all of whom have specialist knowledge and experience in their respective fields.

Technical and Safety Committee (TASC)

The Technical and Safety Committee (TASC) provides a confidential forum that enables key, relevant issues to be discussed, reviewed, relevantly deciphered and disseminated to all the Federation members. Through TASC, FSDF is also a member of the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) Logistics Strategy Forum. 

Membership of TASC is open to all member companies whose representatives can demonstrate:

• A sound technical and overall knowledge of at least one of the main focus groups of the committee

• Substantial experience at a senior level within the food and drink logistics industry

• Commitment to being an active participant and contributor to the work undertaken by the committee

Each of the focus groups is led by a committee member with both experience and knowledge of the appropriate field:

• Health and Safety

• Environmental and Sustainability

• Food Safety and Hygiene

TASC regularly produces technical bulletins and guides on a variety of relevant subjects including changes to legislation that is of interest to member companies working in the food and drink logistics sector. Copies of all publications produced by TASC can be downloaded from the FSDF members’ website.

Lift truck training

One of the recent topics of focus for TASC has been lift truck driver training and supervision. Lift trucks are widely used for moving materials and goods, but they are involved in about a quarter of all workplace transport accidents. The resulting deaths and injuries caused can ruin lives and businesses. Even when an incident does not cause injury, it can mean costly damage to lift trucks, buildings, fittings and goods.

The Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 (PUWER) states that employers must make sure that all people who use, supervise or manage the use of work equipment, including lift trucks, have received adequate training.

The FSDF’s TASC has produced a guidance document in collaboration with Slough Borough Council, which summarises the main points on operator training that is set out in the HSE Approved Code of Practice (ACoP) L117 – Rider-operated lift trucks: Operator training and safe use. The Approved Code of Practice and Guidance covers the minimum standard of basic training requirements for operators of stacking rider-operated lift trucks, even if they only operate the equipment occasionally.

The guidance is aimed at employers and those responsible for the safe operation of lift trucks in the food storage and distribution industry, as well as those in control of worksites, the self-employed, managers and supervisors. However, employees and their safety representatives may also benefit from the guidance.

The detailed information contained in L117 has been condensed for the Guidance document. These headings include: Who Should Employers Train?, What Should Training Include?, Choosing Instructors, Monitoring and Assessment, and Certificates & Accreditation. The appendices also include vital information including Basic Training: Objectives To Consider, Tests of Operator Skills, Training Objectives, and  examples of the information that should be included in a lift truck operator’s training records.

Chris Sturman, CEO of FSDF commented: "Health and Safety in the workplace is such an important issue. The FSDF’s Technical and Safety committee (TASC) has produced the guidance document to help our members get straight to the core of the HSE’s Approved Code of Practice, so they can focus on getting the job done. The TASC team is comprised of highly professional individuals with a great depth of experience in the food and drink logistics supply chain including engineering and refrigeration, as well as safety advisors and specialists, all of whom use their considerable knowledge of best practice to ensure our FSDF members are in receipt of the best quality guidance and advice relating to technical safety issues.”