All the documents you need to carry out effective risk assessments that comply with all legal requirements and will keep your insurers happy.
Charging forklift truck batteries can present risks to staff which, left unmanaged, could cause accidents and potentially put you on the wrong side of the law.
Managing the risks
To help you identify the hazards associated with battery charging activities, e.g. electric shock and contact with battery acid, and the appropriate ways of controlling them, use our example Risk Assessment - Charging Forklift Truck Batteries. It covers the generic hazards associated with this type of activity and suggests control measures to reduce risks to an acceptable level.
You should ensure that your document only addresses “significant” hazards, i.e. any that could, and more importantly are likely to, cause an accident or injury.
Make your instructions clear
Don’t include activities in your document that simply don’t need to be there. Work to the principle that if there is any chance of your staff being unaware of the safe way of doing something, then you will need to make it clear in your document. Finally, always ensure that any control measures you identify and only go “so far as is reasonably practicable”.
Note. The list of potential hazards is not exhaustive. However, for your risk assessment to be considered suitable and sufficient in the eyes of the law it must accurately reflect the “significant” hazards found when charging forklift trucks in your workplace.
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