Do you know what you’re using?

Order pickers, pallet and reach trucks, pedestrian stackers – all essential parts of any warehousing componentry, but are any of these considered forklifts?

It might seem like a stupid question, especially to those long in the tooth, but it is really important to understand the different types of equipment at your disposal if you’re to follow every letter of the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015.

A good place to clarify the definition of a forklift is the Forklift Industry Association of New Zealand’s new Forklift Good Practice Guidelines (GPG).

You might have read about this in a past Supermarket News issue but if you haven’t, it’s a document that contains guidance on how to achieve industry good practice within your workplace as well as maintaining operational compliance with current rules, regulations and standards.

We’re optimistic that the guidelines will be endorsed as the replacement of the Approved Code of Practise of Forklift Training and Operations Practice.

But back to the question at hand: what is a forklift?

The GPG defines them as a powered industrial lift truck equipped with lifting media made up of a mast and elevating load carriage with a pair of fork arms or other attachment that can be raised 900 millimetres or more off the ground.

Bluntly put, it is something that lifts goods off of one surface and onto another using a vertical mast.

Forklifts are used for a wide range of operations in New Zealand and are invaluable assets that provide key services within the materials handling sector for multiple industries.

And there is a myriad of forklift classifications; as with all mobile plant, the safe operation of forklifts depends on multiple factors, including the correct selection of forklift and attachments for a given task.

Forklift operations present a significant risk if those factors are not managed correctly, which is why it is important to make the distinction because it creates a clear set of expectations for the users or operators of the equipment.

Correct forklift definitions, or indeed selection, are vital as it plays a role in training which is separated into three parts: foundation training, workplace training (including ongoing competency assessment) and refresher training.

A competent operator is one who has the means of demonstrating competency through the combination of the following:

• The holding of nationally recognised Forklift NZQA unit standards appropriate to the type of forklift, and

• Successful completion of role-specific workplace training on the type of forklift they operate, and

• Ongoing competency assessments.

One means of demonstrating competency is through achieving nationally recognised Forklift NZQA unit standards or an equivalent or higher qualification. Competency should also be assessed through supervision during the use of the equipment. A forklift operator must also be able to demonstrate they have the knowledge and skills required to carry out an effective hazard and risk assessment within their area of operations.

This all might seem fairly obvious, but sometimes it bears repeating in any industry that relies on equipment with inherent risks. The GPG is comprehensive and detailed to keep our people, our mobile plant and our operations safe.

It has been developed this way also to ensure that everyone is aware of their duty of care, obligations, and responsibilities regardless of who they are.

The GPG might not get you a spot on the now cancelled World Forklift League (which featured on New Zealand televisions back in 2015) but it better reflects current best practice for those involved in operations that involve forklifts, and will go a long way to helping you and others stay safe. n