Risk Assessment Forklift Template
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~200 employees
~20 employees
~25,000 employees
~40 employees
~10,000 employees
~1,500 employees
~35,000 employees
What is a Forklift Risk Assessment?
A Forklift Risk Asssessment document is a proactive measure that solidifies safety when working with forklifts. It is a meticulous approach to identifying and mitigating hazards, which helps boost and streamline your operational procedures while safeguarding your employees and important assets. Aside from that, a forklift risk assessment is a regulatory requirement. Companies and establishments must conform to this regulation to avoid any legal violation.
Ultimately, this document serves as the essential basis for preventing accidents during the use and maintenance of forklifts. With a systematic approach, no hazard is safe from it.
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Forklift Risk Assessment Example
Identifying hazards and their risks when operating or maintaining a forklift through a risk assessment would provide the appropriate controls to effectively manage them. To better understand how to conduct it, here is a sample procedure for a forklift risk assessment, as an aid for operating a forklift safely.
Identify the people involved
The first step is to identify the people involved in the activity. This gives supervisors an overview of who is operating the machine and who is supporting the operator. The procedure also ensures that the right and qualified personnel are chosen for each specific task in the activity. This practice avoids mishandling and reduces the likelihood of accidents caused by untrained personnel.
Task Hazard Analysis
A brainstorming session should be done next. The task hazard analysis is a thorough review of all the procedures involved in the activity and identifies the hazards at each step. Having multiple people collaborate on this procedure would be beneficial for identifying all possible hazards in the activity. This step is also necessary for the next procedure.
Risk Assessment
During this part of the process, the likelihood and severity of each identified hazard are scored using the Risk Assessment Matrix. The score will help identify the right control measures for each hazard. When selecting the control measure, you can use the hierarchy of controls—elimination, substitution, engineering controls, administrative controls, and PPE—as a basis. Just like the task hazard analysis, it would be beneficial to have multiple people involved in scoring the hazard and identifying the controls for a more concrete and effective risk assessment.
Review
Upon completion of the risk assessment, the department manager should verify the accuracy and correctness of the three previously mentioned steps. This guarantees that no hazard goes unnoticed, and each control effectively eliminates or mitigates the hazard. This approach ensures a more rigid risk assessment that can effectively safeguard both your employees and assets.
Risk Assessment: Forklift Operation Safety Tips
Forklift hazards such as falls, tip-overs, and struck-by situations pose a danger to forklift operators and others working nearby. Methods for avoiding these threats include
Inspecting the forklift before and after use
The machine should function without repairs. Conducting inspections guarantees the forklift works properly, which ensures the safety of the operator and the personnel working around it. Forklift failures and incidents have the possibility to severely injure or take someone's life. For this very reason, every forklift in operation must have a mandatory inspection before and after using it.
Personnel involved working with a forklift must be qualified and trained
Understanding the principles of forklift operations is important to maintaining workplace safety. Therefore, only those who have completed a full training program should operate forklifts. This ensures that every forklift activity is performed safely, responsibly, and within safety standards.
Operate at safe speeds
A forklift is designed for carefully transporting goods. This heavy machinery could prove to be dangerous when using it at high speed, especially when carrying heavy loads. The risk of harm to the operator and others increases with the speed of the forklift. So in this regard, slow and steady is the best option when using the forklift.
Follow Standard Procedures
You must strictly follow the loading, unloading, carrying, securing, and parking safety procedures. The fabrication of these procedures aimed to protect the forklift operator and other personnel from potentially harmful situations. It would also be beneficial to brief these workers on the procedures before they operate or assist with the forklift to ensure safety. A forklift risk assessment PDF could be distributed amongst the workers to help them remember the correct measures.
Stop, look, and listen
Pay attention to your surroundings. Despite their strength, forklifts have drawbacks. If you're not cautious, an invisible flaw or unseen obstruction might seriously harm a forklift or the people near it. Be vigilant for any bumps, holes, or slick flooring. Before proceeding, clear away any tiny items or trash.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is this the best Forklift Risk Assessment template?
Sitemate's Forklift Risk Assessment Template stands out because it's already trusted by thousands of high-risk industry teams—especially in construction, logistics, and warehousing. It’s built around industry best practices for identifying, assessing, and controlling forklift-related hazards, and it’s designed to be fast, clear, and usable by anyone on-site, from supervisors to operators.
Is this template compliant with regulatory standards?
Yes – this template is already aligned with ISO 45001 and local safety regulations across Australia, the UK, New Zealand, and other regions. It’s actively used by certified contractors in construction, logistics, and warehousing to meet compliance and maintain certification, and it can also be configured to suit other regulatory requirements based on your region or industry.
Can I edit this Forklift Risk Assessment for my project or company?
Yes – the template is fully editable using intuitive drag-and-drop tools. You can tailor it with thousands of layout possibilities, incorporating diverse field types like tables, formulas, sketches, and photos to capture any kind of data. Plus, you can tailor to fit it with your company logo, custom headers, and other structural elements. All of this is powered by Dashpivot’s powerful template builder.
What formats is this Forklift Risk Assessment available in?
This template works seamlessly across all types of devices whether it's your desktop, mobile,and tablet. Fill out and edit Forklift Risk Assessment using your phone directly on the field, or using a tablet, PC, or other device. Share easily to team members within the software, or export forms into PDF after completion – all in one platform.
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This risk assessment was generated with Dashpivot
Defeat hazards before they wreak havoc. This Forklift Risk Assessment features tables that allow you to input multiple procedures and hazards when making your risk assessment form. This template helps with providing a complete risk assessment that both complies with regulations and keeps your employees and assets safe.
- Complete, edit, and review the Risk Assessment Forklift from any device.
- Export and send assessments as perfectly formatted PDF documents with your company logo.
- Securely store and manage your report assessments for easy searching and finding.
- Directly notify managers for review and sign-off after completing the assessment.
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