Fork fractured whilst forklift in operation

Description of Process

Forklift operations

Description of Incident

A forklift operator was rotating a fully loaded skip when the right-hand fork fractured just below the lower fork mounting Boss.

The load was set down on the ground with no further incident.

Findings:

•LOLER inspection was in date and daily check completed prior to incident•The right-hand fork fractured immediately below the lower mounting boss support (image 1)•The left-hand fork was removed, cleaned and inspected – the lower mounting boss was found to be cracked (images 2 & 3) in a similar area to the right-hand fork •Both forks appear to have suffered from fatigue fractures across the lower mounting boss causing the complete fracture of the right-hand fork•Overloading is not considered a contributing factor in this incident

Good Practice Guidance

Recommendations from forklift provider:

•A schedule of MPI crack testing to be adopted, - carried out every 6 months alongside the LOLER checks already being undertaken.