Is Your Forklift Truck up to the Mark?

Is Your Forklift Truck up to the Mark?

If you own or operate a truck, you are required by law to ensure that it holds a valid report of Thorough Examination. This also applies to trucks on hire. If you fail to comply with this legislation you could invalidate your insurance and you are putting yourself at risk of prosecution, or even a serious accident that could occur due to faulty equipment.

A Thorough Examination is a detailed inspection of all the safety related parts of a forklift truck. It’s a similar concept to taking your car for an MOT, but in many ways more complex.  As well as the brakes, steering, tyres, etc being checked under PUWER 98, all of the lifting components, hydraulics, chains, forks, etc are inspected in accordance with LOLER 98.

The regulations apply to forklift trucks that are one year old, and then from that point onwards a Thorough Examination will be required at least once every 12 months. Just like an MOT for a car a Thorough Examination is not part of the maintenance process and must be carried out and reported on separately.

The employers of the operator of the forklift truck is responsible for ensuring that Thorough Examinations are carried out on time and all records MUST be kept.

It is extremely important that you ensure a fully accredited company carries out the examination.  By using someone with out accreditation you are leaving yourself open to the risk of legal problems, inaccurate advice, superficial examinations that do not comply with HSE requirements and dangerous trucks resulting in serious accidents.

At LANGLEY, we were one of the first companies in the industry to be approved to carry out these examinations with the ‘Fork Lift Truck Association’.

Give our Service Dept a call now (01773 763546 or 0114 276 6999) and ask for details – examinations start from as little as £50 per truck. Alternatively, you can get in touch via our contact page here.