The logistics and warehousing industry is dynamic and time sensitive. Business realities are constantly changing, and if you are not doing everything you can to make it work, it will not. In this case, forklift certification plays a big role in accuracy and productivity. This is important for health and safety reasons. It also ensures compliance with the relevant UK regulations such as Provision and Use of Work Equipment requirements (PUWER). Since all the rules say that operators must have proper training, forklift certification is dealing with these rules head on.
Safety First: Minimising Risks on the Warehouse Floor
To get logistics centres and warehouses up and running, forklifts have to move quickly. A large hazard to public safety is operating these vehicles without training. More than several thousand people suffer serious injuries when operating forklifts in the United Kingdom each year, according to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). But these things happen, and training mistakes are a common reason they do.
“The intention behind forklift certification is to ensure that operators have adequate knowledge of the correct and safe way to operate this equipment. It helps protect employees and their belongings and decrease the chances of an accident,” says Gary Bernardout, founder and CEO of HGVC, UK’s leading training company. It’s not just what the law says, it’s every employee going home to their families at the end of the day,” he added.
Compliance with PUWER: Avoiding Legal and Financial Pitfalls
Forklift certification, according to PUWER, is needed for safety and legality. Businesses can be fined and operationally restricted for non-compliance. A forklift incident in 2022 costing a company £250,000 revealed operator training shortcomings and non-compliance.
Organisations that are certified comply with regulatory standards, which eliminate legal risks, and downtime. Organisations save money in the long run by not having to train operators and less likelihood of damaging equipment.
Efficiency Gains Through Proper Training
There are many advantages to forklift certification – increased safety and compliance, increased operational efficiency. Improved workflow and reduced handling errors mean more precision, while certified operators work with them. The consensus is that correctly educated forklift operators can boost warehouse productivity by 30%. Having your forklift certified will pay dividends in terms of greater profit.
HGVC is at the forefront of the UK’s forklift training and certification. They are specialists in the logistics and warehousing industry who designed our programmes to meet legal requirements and to motivate operators to push themselves to the max.
Forklift licensing is a prerequisite to keeping the workplace safe and legal. Businesses can minimise their risk by having workers know how to use a forklift safely and efficiently.
HGVC’s forklift certification programmes are complete training options for companies who want to be ahead. They are consistent with industry rules as well as best practices. The reason is that it is so much more expensive not to follow the rules than it is to train workers, so having certified workers does make the warehouse safer and more efficient from the start.
Abdul Basit 
Spero Agency