Pallet Truck Shop, one of the country’s leading suppliers of materials handling equipment, is encouraging all businesses with heavy machinery and apparatus such as hand pallet trucks and forklifts to be vigilant when it comes to visibility issues, and brush up on training as regularly as possible.

The law dictates that basic health and safety training is compulsory in many workplaces, but the importance of further education and inside knowledge about the risks associated with such equipment cannot be overstated. It’s well-known that many people operating trucks and lifting equipment will often have a ‘blind spot’, and the team at Pallet Truck Shop are urging businesses to provide adequate training, as well as encouraging employees to always be on their guard when it comes to visibility.

Phil Chesworth, Managing Director of Pallet Truck Shop, says, “Though no official qualifications or certificates are required to operate pallet truck, lift tables or manual stackers, it’s crucial that businesses make their employees aware of things like blind spots before they are allowed to operate such equipment. Hand pallet trucks are very useful, versatile pieces of equipment, but in the hands of someone who isn’t sure of their duties and the procedures they should follow, they can be dangerous. We’d like to encourage all businesses to give staff extra training where they can – not simply just to comply with the law, but to minimise the risk of accidents in the workplace.”

Holding some form of awareness day or training event at a workplace is always recommended by the experts. The focus of these events can encompass all materials handling equipment, whether it’s the safe use of high lift pallet trucks, or the correct way to use pallet truck chocks. Whether employees already have this knowledge is irrelevant – reminding them of their obligations and the correct procedure from time to time is a great way to boost safety in working environments and ensure everyone knows and understands their role.

Working with equipment like high-lift pallet trucks is an integral part of many industries where the transportation of heavy goods is a part of everyday operations. Holding a safety event or simply encouraging staff to recap on their duties can help lower the risk across the board, and can help not only reduce the number of accidents caused due to things like blind spots, but also increase the productivity of the safe and secure workers.