Our member companies and the wider industry have a duty to identify foreseeable risk within their businesses, this includes identifying risk in light of industry knowledge. As a trade association we provide our members with a plethora of industry level guidance. Some of our guidance is assured by Primary Authority, which gives it legal standing which cannot be overturned.

To put this into perspective and provide an example of how BFFF assured guidance can help protect your people and your business, we have provided the case study below on materials handling equipment:

Case Study – Materials Handling Equipment Observation Assessments

The question raised was “given we have legislation such as the health & safety at Work Act, Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations and Approved Code of Practice for rider operated lift trucks (L117) why do we need any more guidance? “

In the Approved Code of Practice L117 (Paragraph 75) it states that lift truck operators, even those who are trained and experienced, need to be routinely monitored in the workplace and, where necessary, retested or refresher trained to make sure they continue to operate lift trucks safely.

In interpreting L117 one of our member companies asked how they could practically monitor and produce this observation assessment and therefore fulfil this code of practice.

BFFF set about writing guidance on how to complete MHE observation assessments with specific assessment criteria and observation log template. The document was assured by primary authority giving it a legal stamp, it also appears on the primary authority register.

In summary, the guidance produced by BFFF provides further detail on specific topics and compliments existing government guidance. If followed this would put your organisation on the right side of the legal fence.

The full list of assured guidance available from BFFF includes:

• Hot Works Instructions and Checklist
• Hot Works Permit
• Fire Safety Induction Training – Contractors
• Fire Safety Induction Training – Staff
• Covid-19 Office Re-Opening Guidance
• Selecting Staff for First Aid Training
• Provision of Defibrillators in the Workplace
• Rest Breaks for Cold Store Workers
• Overtime Risk Assessments
• How to Assess Head Protection for Cold Store Workers
• Health Surveillance for Cold Store Workers
• Working in a Cold Store – Advice for Employees
• Guidance on Raynaud’s Phenomenon
• RIDDOR Determination Guidance
• Work at Height Equipment Guidance for Cold Stores
• MHE Observation Guidance
• Materials Handling Equipment Observation Assessments

We are in the process of writing new guidance for testing Cold Store footwear. Under the EN ISO 20345 standard Cold Insulative footwear is not tested at temperatures that reflect our industry, hence the need for this guidance, this should be available over the next couple of months.

For more information on BFFF Assured guidance and member Health & Safety support, please contact: simonbrentnall@bfff.co.uk