The UK material handling sector’s leading safety initiative, National Forklift Safety Day (NFSD), returns with a hard-hitting campaign highlighting the human cost of accidents involving material handling equipment.
Organised by the UK Material Handling Association (UKMHA), the campaign launches on Tuesday 10 June although the message behind the event applies all year round – making every day National Forklift Safety Day.
In a departure to previous campaigns, this year the focus will be on the emotional impact a serious accident can have on all the people involved, including friends and family as well as colleagues.
Such events can be truly life-changing, and by recognising the human cost of these accidents, UKMHA is committed to raising awareness with employers and employees and tasking them to prioritise safety at work, at all times.
David Goss, Technical Director, UKMHA said: “Accidents have a tendency to become mere statistics, but for those involved, the consequences can last a lifetime.
“By highlighting the human cost of such accidents – not just on the victims but also on equipment operators, co-workers, family and friends, we aim to highlight the human story that is the reality behind every statistic.”
UKMHA believes that whilst previous campaigns have provided technical information and practical guidance, accidents rates will only fall when the lessons learned in safety seminars are at the forefront of the everyone’s minds even when under the daily pressures of the busy modern workplace.
The 2025 campaign draws on messages from previous years, for example revisiting the importance of segregating workers from MHE, when under the slogan “A painted line isn’t enough”, it will again highlight one of the most emotive aspects of the 2024 NFSD campaign; a harrowing video interview with Lisa Ramos, whose life was irrevocably changed in 2006 when she became an above-knee amputee after an accident where a forklift truck reversed into her while she was in a designated walkway area in the warehouse where she worked with her husband, David.
In the video she describes how the accident, which happened on her son’s 13th birthday, devastated her life and that of her family. She now campaigns for greater safety awareness in the workplace and urges businesses to take greater responsibility for the safety of their workforce.
Offering his own perspective on the impact of the accident, David will be appearing in a new video talking about the effect the accident had on him personally as well as the family as a whole.
Another key aspect of the campaign is being organised by Hyster Yale Material Handling (HYMH). The company will be hosting an event at its base in Craigavon, Northern Ireland, where it will invite guests to tour the factory before hosting a live panel debate entitled ‘How can we reduce industrial accidents involving Material Handling Equipment’.
High on the agenda will be a review of how mixed fleet operations work where driven and driverless trucks co-exist in the same working environment, especially in areas where pedestrians will also be working.
One of those participating in the event is Colin Boyce, MHE Operations Manager at Babcock International’s Devonport Royal Dockyard naval base. Colin’s operation was highlighted when Babcock won the Safe Site Award at the 2024 Archies Awards – run by the UKMHA.
UKMHA members will be urged to heed the messages and leverage the campaign to promote their own solutions to this important issue.
The theme of the campaign will also be revisited during IMHX 2025 on 10 September when UKMHA hosts a special Safety Morning, to which visitors will be encouraged to attend. More information on NFSD is available by visiting www.nationalforkliftsafetyday.co.uk
