During a routine contractor induction at a blocks site that was using engineers supplied by a specialist forklift company, the engineers/contractors were asked for their certificate/licence for the operation and testing of the in-house forklift trucks.

It became apparent that the engineers’ B1 and B2 Licences had both expired some time ago and contractors operated under a different policy / procedure to the block manufacturing company.

The contracting company was contacted and agreed to get all their engineers back in date with training.

The block manufacturer has reminded all sites about the importance of

• Ensuring that all engineers can provide evidence of an in-date licence for the tasks they are going to perform
• If they cannot provide this, ensure that a fully trained member of the company is available to move and operate the trucks during the time of the inspection on their behalf.
• Reinforcing the message that NO contractors from any company is permitted to operate the company’s forklift trucks or equipment without the relevant licence and training.

This incidence highlights why it is essential to verify contractor competence for many skills based activities as part of a company’s standard contractor control process and to satisfy yourself that they can perform the works requested. If you are in any doubt, seek assistance or do not let work proceed.