What should a forklift risk assessment include?

A forklift risk assessment should cover the main ways people get hurt around lift trucks: collisions with pedestrians, the truck overturning, falling loads, untrained drivers, defects, and charging or refuelling. For each one it should set out who’s at risk, the controls in place and who’s responsible. It should also record the checks the law requires: pre-use checks, servicing and a LOLER thorough examination.

Every employer has to assess the risks to their staff and anyone affected by their work (Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999, Regulation 3). If you have 5 or more employees, you must write down the significant findings. On most sites with a forklift, the forklift is one of the biggest risks there is.

Below is a worked example you can adapt. It isn’t a form to sign and file. It only works if it describes what actually happens on your site.

The five steps

HSE’s approach to any risk assessment works for forklifts too:

1. Identify the hazards. Walk the site while the trucks are working. Where do people and trucks meet?

2. Decide who might be harmed. Drivers, pedestrians, visitors, delivery drivers, contractors.

3. Decide on controls. Remove the risk if you can, then separate people and trucks, then rely on training and rules.

4. Record what you’ve found and who’s doing what.

5. Review it. After an incident or near miss, a layout change, a new truck or attachment, and at least once a year.

Example forklift risk assessment

Hazard	Who’s at risk	Controls	Who’s responsible
Truck hits a pedestrian	Pedestrians, visitors, delivery drivers	Marked walkways and barriers, set crossing points, speed limits, blue lights or horns, hi-vis, no pedestrians in aisles while trucks work	Site manager
Truck overturns	Driver	Trained drivers only, restraint worn where fitted, loads carried low, slow turns, no turning on slopes, floors kept in good repair	Supervisor and drivers
Load falls	Driver, anyone nearby	Load within the rating plate capacity, forks fully under the load, damaged pallets taken out, nobody walking under raised forks	Drivers
Untrained or unauthorised driver	Driver, everyone nearby	Only trained and authorised drivers, keys kept by a named person, training records kept, refresher training	Manager
Defect or mechanical failure	Driver, everyone nearby	Pre-use check every shift, defects reported and the truck taken out of use, servicing to the manufacturer’s schedule, LOLER thorough examination every 12 months	Drivers, maintenance contractor, examiner
Someone lifted on the forks	The person lifted	Never on forks, pallets or in a bucket. A MEWP for planned work at height. A proper cage only in exceptional circumstances	Manager
Battery charging or gas refuelling	Staff nearby	Charging in a ventilated area away from ignition sources, no smoking, LPG cylinders changed by trained staff, eye protection and gloves	Named staff
Loading bays and lorries	Driver, lorry drivers	Lorries can’t drive off while being loaded (keys handed in or vehicle restraints), dock levellers checked, a safe waiting area for lorry drivers	Site manager
Attachments (clamps, rotators, extensions)	Driver, everyone nearby	Attachment suits the truck, the capacity plate shows the reduced rating, attachment included in the thorough examination	Manager

What controls make the biggest difference?

In my experience, most forklift accidents come down to people and trucks sharing the same space. Separating them does more than any rule or sign. If pedestrians and trucks have to cross, make it a marked crossing point with clear sight lines, not anywhere in the aisle.

After that, it’s the basics done every day:

• Training and authorisation. HSE’s Approved Code of Practice L117 covers operator training. Only people who’ve been trained, and authorised by you, should drive.

• Restraints. HSE says counterbalance, rough-terrain and some side-loading trucks have had to be fitted with an operator restraint since 2002, and where one is fitted, it should be used.

• Pre-use checks. A few minutes at the start of every shift: tyres, forks, chains, hydraulics, brakes, steering, horn, lights and the restraint.

The checks the law requires

Your risk assessment should record these, because they’re legal duties in their own right:

• Pre-use checks: every shift, by the driver.

• Servicing: to the manufacturer’s schedule, usually by hours of use (PUWER Regulation 5).

• LOLER thorough examination: at least every 12 months, covering the forks, chains, mast, carriage and lifting hydraulics. Every 6 months if the truck is ever used to lift people.

A service isn’t a thorough examination, and the two shouldn’t be done by the same person. More in is a LOLER inspection the same as a service? and does a forklift need a LOLER inspection?

Common gaps I see

• The assessment was written for a different layout. The racking moved, the walkway didn’t.

• Pedestrian rules nobody follows, because the walkway adds two minutes to the walk to the canteen.

• Hand pallet trucks left out. Most aren’t LOLER equipment, but they still need maintaining and checking under PUWER. More in does a pallet truck need a LOLER inspection?

• A man cage on the wall that’s used “now and then” for planned jobs. That’s not allowed. More in can you lift people with a forklift?

• No date for the LOLER examination, or one that’s run over.

Forklift examinations across the East Midlands

We carry out LOLER thorough examinations on forklifts, reach trucks, telehandlers and their attachments for warehouses, factories, builders’ merchants and farms across Nottingham, Derby, and the East Midlands. We also travel anywhere in the UK.

Every examination is carried out and signed by me, Ryan Leavesley MSOE MBES, an engineer surveyor with over 14 years’ experience. We don’t sell, hire or service trucks, so nothing we find is a sale. Reports are written on site before I leave, we contact you before each examination falls due, and once we’ve agreed a price, it stays fixed for all your ongoing examinations.

More on our forklift inspections page. Or tell us how many trucks you’ve got and we’ll come back with a fixed quote.

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FAQs

Is a forklift risk assessment a legal requirement?

Yes. The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 require every employer to assess the risks from their work, which includes using forklifts. If you have 5 or more employees, the significant findings must be written down.

What should a forklift risk assessment include?

The hazards (pedestrian collisions, overturning, falling loads, untrained drivers, defects, charging or refuelling), who’s at risk from each, the controls in place, who’s responsible, and the checks the law requires, including pre-use checks, servicing and the LOLER thorough examination.

How often should a forklift risk assessment be reviewed?

Whenever something changes: a new layout, a new truck or attachment, an accident or near miss, or new staff working patterns. Even if nothing changes, reviewing it at least once a year is good practice.

Who should carry out a forklift risk assessment?

Someone competent who knows the site and how the trucks are used, often the site or warehouse manager. Involving the drivers helps, because they know where the near misses happen.

Do forklift drivers have to wear a seat belt?

HSE says counterbalance, rough-terrain and some side-loading trucks have had to be fitted with an operator restraint since 2002, and where a restraint is fitted, it should be used. Your risk assessment should say so.

How often does a forklift need a LOLER inspection?

At least every 12 months, or every 6 months if it’s ever used to lift people. The thorough examination covers the forks, chains, mast, carriage and lifting hydraulics, and must be carried out by a competent person.

Does a pallet truck need to be in the forklift risk assessment?

It should be in your risk assessment, even if it isn’t LOLER equipment. Hand pallet trucks still need maintaining and checking, and powered pallet trucks and stackers bring the same pedestrian risks as forklifts.