The UK’s National Forklift Safety Day

National Forklift Safety Day (NFSD) returns for 2025 with a hard-hitting campaign highlighting the human cost of accidents involving material handling equipment.

As the industry’s most important safety initiative, NFSD aims to equip employers and professionals with the knowledge they need to ensure safe working practices.

Supported by the slogan “A Painted Line Isn’t Enough”, this year’s campaign sheds light on the long-lasting implications MHE accidents can have for all involved.

The associated social media campaign will provide reminders on the need for segregation of pedestrians from MHE, and also of the importance of seatbelt use and utilisation of appropriate PPE.

Focus for the day of the event, Tuesday 10 June, will be the launch of a brand new safety initiative commissioned by the UK Material Handling Association (UKMHA). This major new project has been designed to improve safety across the entire material handling sector and to provide insights into what accidents actually happen and why they occur.

NFSD will also see the release of a new white paper developed from roundtable discussions between specialists in the material handling industry about how safety standards can be improved.

In a departure from previous campaigns, this year the focus will be on the emotional impact a serious accident can have on all the people involved, including friends and family as well as colleagues.

Such events can be truly life-changing, and by recognising the human cost of these accidents, UKMHA is committed to raising awareness amongst employers and employees and tasking them to prioritise safety at work, at all times.

David Goss, Technical Director, UKMHA said: “Accidents have a tendency to become mere statistics, but for those involved, the consequences can last a lifetime.

“By highlighting the human cost of such accidents – not just to the victims but also on equipment operators, co-workers, family and friends, we aim to highlight the human story that is the reality behind every statistic.”

The 2025 campaign will revisit one of the most emotive aspects of NFSD 2024, a harrowing video interview with Lisa Ramos, whose life was irrevocably changed in 2006 when she became an above-knee amputee after an accident where a forklift truck reversed into her while she was in a designated walkway area in the warehouse where she worked with her husband, David.

In the video she describes how the accident, which happened on her son’s 13th birthday, devastated her life and that of her family. She now campaigns for greater safety awareness in the workplace and urges businesses to take greater responsibility for the safety of their workforce.

Offering his own perspective on the impact of the accident, David will be appearing in a new video talking about the effect the accident had on him personally as well as the family as a whole.

UKMHA members are being urged to heed the messages and leverage the campaign to promote their own safety solutions and services.

The theme of the campaign will be revisited during IMHX 2025 on 10 September when UKMHA hosts a special Safety Morning, to which visitors will be encouraged to attend.

More information on NFSD is available by visiting www.nationalforkliftsafetyday.co.uk

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