Several people drive your forklift. If one of them tips it or drops a pallet, who was trained and assessed on that truck, and where is it written down? PHW trains and assesses your operators on your own forklift, on your own site.
The standard sit-on forklift, with the forks at the front and the weight behind the driver. Diesel, gas (LPG) or electric, up to 4,500 kg. Small factories, steel stockholders, builders' merchants, farms, plant hire depots and any yard or goods-in bay moving pallets and unit loads.
Goods in and goods out: watch the film, read the trade page or take the one-minute check.
PHW trains and assesses your operators on your own forklift, on your own site. In plain terms: the daily check before starting, driving and manoeuvring, picking up, stacking and placing loads, loading and unloading lorries and containers, the checks after use, and the housekeeping and paperwork that go with goods in and goods out. The units on the certificate are listed below.
The operator gets certificates to show on site. You get the records for your file. Anyone can scan the QR code on a certificate to open the live record.
In Great Britain the duty to train sits with you as the employer, under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 section 2(2)(c) and PUWER 1998 regulation 9, which requires adequate training for everyone who uses work equipment. The Approved Code of Practice L117, rider-operated lift trucks, expects competence to be tested after basic training and checked through regular monitoring afterwards.
L117 sets out a three-stage training model: basic training, job-specific training, and familiarisation with the particular truck and site. It counts anyone who drives the truck as an operator, even as a small part of their job.
L117 says counterbalance trucks have had to be fitted with an operator restraining system, such as a seat belt, since 2002, and that where one is fitted it should be used.
It also says to keep pedestrians out of the areas where trucks work where possible, and where that is not possible to separate pedestrian routes from truck routes and mark the crossing places.
A forklift is lifting equipment, so LOLER 1998 applies to it. Every lift must be planned by a competent person, appropriately supervised and carried out safely (regulation 8). The mast, chains, carriage, forks and tilt mechanism need a thorough examination by a competent person at least every 12 months, or under an examination scheme, and you keep the report for at least two years (regulation 9 and L117 paragraph 165). A truck used to lift people, even occasionally, is examined at least every six months. That is separate from the routine service.
L117 says to give each operator written authorisation once all three stages of training are complete, naming the operator, the date, the type of truck and any limits. The certificate, the records and the site evidence statement are what you keep on file when you sign it.
Up to four of your people assessed for competence in one day, on your own site and machines, with minimum downtime. Plus a written safe-system pack for each topic. Tell us how many people drive your forklift and your site postcode, and PHW comes back with a quote and dates.
HSE prosecutions in this line of work.
£170,000 + £7,999 costs · 2026-05-12
A fitter's hand was trapped under a three-tonne machine when forklift forks unexpectedly dropped, resulting in two amputated fingers.
Read the case →£500,000 + £7,040 costs · 2023-11-08
A forklift struck a kerbstone and overturned, trapping and killing a driver who was not wearing a seatbelt.
Read the case →£230,000 + £111,000 costs · 2026-09-14
An improperly planned and supervised forklift unloading operation dropped a 1.2-tonne crate onto a delivery worker from another company, causing life-changing injuries.
Read the case →