National Forklift Safety Day once again proved to be a major success for 2025 with support from across the UK material handling and intralogistics sector – and if you missed out on the day itself, never fear as you can still participate by checking out the event’s new-look website where you will find a host of assets ready to access, including the pioneering new MHE Incident Reporting Portal.
For 2025, campaign organiser, the UK Material Handling Association (UKMHA) opted for a bold approach to reinforce the message that ‘A Painted Line Isn’t Enough’.
The principal focus of the 2025 campaign is an industry-first, a trailblazing new portal designed to assimilate and analyse MHE incident data with the aim of improving safety in the workplace.
Workplaces are being urged to use the portal to report any incidents involving MHE where personnel were or could have been injured. Questions relate to circumstances that led up to the incident, the nature and severity of injuries, the type of MHE involved, etc.
The data captured by the portal will be used to identify trends and to target areas where safety can be most effectively improved.
No other organisation is collecting this data and if the industry backs the portal then the information gathered will drive safety gains, both directly in the workplace, and through machine design evolution.
David Goss, Technical Director, UKMHA said: “If we are to improve safety around MHE then we must gather as much information as we can into the circumstances surrounding incidents, accidents and near misses. Only by doing this can we hope to understand why accidents occur and identify what we need to do to improve standards.”
He was quick to point out that the portal is not designed to apportion blame but merely to gather as much data as possible in order to derive effective solutions.
Works Managers, Safety Managers and Supervisors are the main targets for the portal but in essence, anyone with a knowledge of an incident can report it.
“I would urge everyone in the industry to visit the NFSD website for details on how to complete the form so we can start saving lives,” added Mr Goss.
The newly-designed website also contains details about other assets that have been released in support of the 2025 campaign:
- A powerful two-part video interview in which Lisa Ramos and her husband David Garton recount the story of Lisa’s harrowing 2006 accident and how it impacted them personally
- A new white paper outlining why the industry needs to improve safety standards and identifying where the priorities should be
- A video which showcases the safety measures implemented at Hyster-Yale’s Northern Ireland facility
- A host of downloadable material to help promote the message of NFSD 2025 across the industry and beyond.
Rob Fisher, Chief Executive Officer of the UKMHA, said: “We are grateful to everyone who supported NFSD on the day but safety never sleeps so our work goes on. We will continue to work with the industry throughout the year to create safer and more productive workplaces, and with industry support then we can go a long way towards achieving that.”
For more information visit the National Forklift Safety Day website
