National Forklift Safety Day 2025 - “A painted line isn’t enough”
It’s National Forklift Day (NFSD) 2025 and it’s supported by the strapline “A painted line isn’t enough”.
The focus this year is not only around the importance of robust segregation measures, but also the emotional impact of material handling equipment (MHE) incidents.
Here’s a summary of the resources that are available now as part of the 2025 campaign…
Lisa Ramos and David Garton Two-Part Interview
In 2024, NFSD released an interview with Lisa Ramos which saw her recount the story of her life-changing accident in 2006.
A two-part follow-up interview has been released as part of the 2025 campaign Lisa and her husband, David, which explains how the incident impacted them personally and the effect that it has had on their family.
Part one is titled “A painted line isn’t enough” which sees Lisa and David share their accounts of what happened the day of Lisa’s accident.
Part two, “The impact on family”, highlights the emotional trauma they suffered in the aftermath of the accident.
Watch the interview here.
White Paper on MHE Safety
Earlier this year, the UK Material Handling Association (UKMHA) hosted a research roundtable which saw safety leaders and operational experts come together to discuss key MHE safety topics.
Unique perspectives and contributions have created their comprehensive white paper which is available to download here.
Here are some of the key insights:
- Workplace safety requires commitment, vigilance, leadership buy-in and a holistic approach
- 25% of accidents in transport and storage are from people being hit or impacted by a forklift
- For every £1 of forklift damage, the knock-on cost to stock, downtime and other assets can range from £5 to £30
Safety Tour of Hyster-Yale's Facility in Northern Ireland
Hyster-Yale, a manufacturer of state-of-the-art lift trucks, work tirelessly to ensure that their Craigavon facility is a prime example of how to keep workers safe. The video that NFSD has shared highlights how they are prioritising to protect their workforce by:
- Separation of counterbalance trucks from pedestrians
- The introduction of automated, driverless trucks
- Operator assistance functionality
- Fostering a safety culture through the ANTAS (“A no to accidents”) campaign
Watch the safety tour here.
MHE Incident Report Portal
As a result of there being no reliable data on incidents involving material handling equipment, the UKMHA has developed a brand-new NHE Incident Reporting Portal.
Completely anonymous, the portal is open to everyone who works within the industry and provides a platform where experiences can be shared confidentially to improve safety. By contributing to the portal, you will be playing a key role in making the sector safer.
“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.”
- David Goss, Technical Director at UKMHA