September 2021

From its Patchway base, BRISTOL FORKLIFTS has announced it is to further expand its operations throughout the Westcountry with the recruitment of one of the country’s most respected sales specialists. “With 30 years’ experience in the sales of materials handling equipment, Steve Surridge brings an extensive knowledge of the warehousing sector and will greatly strengthen our presence in the Bristol and Swindon areas,” explains Paul Schock, sales director of Bristol Forklifts. “Throughout his career, Steve has worked for some of the biggest names in the industry including Crown, BT Rolatruc/Toyota and Combilift. His expertise will be invaluable to companies of all sizes across the region.” Since his arrival, Steve has been particularly impressed by the quality and sheer diversity of the award-winning range from Mitsubishi Forklift Trucks. t | 01179 694141 w: | www.bristol-mitsubishi.co.uk Falls from height are the single biggest cause of workplace deaths and one of the main causes of major injury within the workplace. Steve Dawson, working at height expert at Arco Professional Safety Services, explains the importance of training for working at height and having the right equipment The most tragic consequences of not providing the right training and protective equipment to your work force, can be serious injury or even the death of an employee. In 2020/21, 35 fatal injuries were due to Falls from a height, accounting for 25% of all worker deaths over the year. Add to this the 17 deaths caused from ‘Struck by moving’ (including flying/falling objects) statistics - which can often be related to Working at Height - and there continues to be a serious need for education and training. Visit www.pwemag.co.uk for the full release. w | www.arcoservices.co.uk Key changes have been announced in the latest update to the materials handling industry official guidance notes on how to comply with the legal obligations for Thorough Examinations. Announcing the changes, Geoff Martin, chairman of leading accrediting body CFTS, said: “Although the laws for the Thorough Examination and Safety Inspection of equipment under LOLER and PUWER have not been changed, the industry guidance enshrined in GN28 has been significantly enhanced. “Those responsible for overseeing handling operations will need to make sure they are up to date and familiarise themselves with those changes. They affect many different aspects of Thorough Examination as it applies to a wide range of equipment including counterbalance trucks, warehouse trucks, rough-terrain forklifts and variable-reach trucks (telehandlers). Visit www.pwemag.co.uk for the full release. t | 01344 623 800. w | www.thoroughexamination.org w | www.thoroughexamination.org/find-an-accredited- examiner Following the success of last year’s webinar, the Association of Industrial Truck Trainers recently hosted another illuminating online conference. Speakers from across the sector shared case histories revealing their experience and successes as well as a series of practical tips for improving training for operatives of workplace transport. AITT managing director Adam Smith said: “Insights into the methods and techniques employed by our speakers will prove invaluable to anyone involved in any capacity in the areas of both training and safety. All of our speakers were very candid about the issues they faced and were extremely generous in revealing details of the journey they took to reach highly successful outcomes.” Drawn from different backgrounds, those speaking included employers in leading manufacturers and wholesalers, technical experts from accrediting bodies as well as a spokesperson from the HSE. t | 01530 810867 w | www.aitt.co.uk Online conference supports training At this year’s PPMA Show on Stand D72, digital coding innovator Clearmark says it will celebrate its 20th anniversary by making its foray into the logistics labelling space with the launch of the innovative ICE Vector Pallet Labelling System. The company says the ICE Vector brings to the marketplace a new high performance, low maintenance tertiary option that is exceptionally easy to integrate with line and warehouse management systems. ICE Vector completes Clearmark’s coding portfolio, enabling customers to benefit from joined-up coding solutions across their primary, secondary and tertiary operations paving the way for the factory of the future. Clearmark says unique engineering differentiators makes the ICE Vector a high-performance system including: climate controlled cabin to ensure consistent print quality and robust long-reach cartesian-style arm guarantees GS1 specification label placement on all pallet configurations. e | enquiries@uk.interactivecoding.com w | www.clearmark.uk Foray into pallet labelling Dealership is going for growth Working at height A survey of 250 UK SME and large manufacturing companies carried out by ABB ROBOTICS reveals a change in attitudes towards robotic automation in the UK, with 81.2% of companies saying that they are considering an investment in robots because of recent events including COVID- 19. Conducted as part of the launch of ABB’s new GoFa and SWIFTI collaborative robots, the survey shows how the impact of the pandemic has been widely felt by many businesses across the UK, with many affected by restrictions on workforce availability caused by lockdown and strict social distancing measures that have reduced their production capacity. Visit www.pwemag.co.uk to read the full release. w | go.abb/robotics 44 | Plant & Works Engineering www.pwemag.co.uk September 2021 Industry Update Covid-19 causes shift in attitudes to robots Key changes announced to guidance Steve Surridge, area sales manager