Forklift trial continues

A SHETLAND lorry driver who was crushed as he unloaded a forklift truck was using the wrong vehicle, a trial at Lerwick Sheriff Court heard on Thursday.

Family haulage firm RS Henderson deny breaching health and safety regulations following the death of 57 year old Geoffrey Davies, of Scraefield, Unst.

Davies was crushed as he drove the forklift truck down ramps at a mussel factory near Baltasound on Saturday 13 February 2010.

On Thursday specialist inspector Andrew Crouch, of the Health and Safety Executive, said that he did not believe a suitable risk assessment had been carried out prior the forklift being delivered from a warehouse in Lerwick.

He also said that he did not believe that Davies had received the appropriate level of training for such a manouevre, as it had been carried in house rather than by a qualified trainer with an accredited training company.

Crouch took issue with a previous health and safety report that suggested it would have been safer to lift the forklift off the lorry with a crane.

He said the safest method would have been to use a “low loader”, which would have reduced the angle of the ramps down which the forklift was driven.

The inspector said he did not think it was possible to drive a forklift safely from the lorry that was used, even though it had been successfully driven onto it in the first place.

On Monday the court heard that the ramps were “too steep and slippery” to maintain traction.

RS Henderson, of Cullivoe, Yell, have denied failing to make a suitable risk assessment prior to the forklift’s delivery and failing to ensure the health, safety and welfare of its employees between 9 and 13 February 2010. The trial continues.