Regarded as one of the material handling industry’s most important safety initiatives, National Forklift Safety Day (NFSD) aims to emphasise best practices for MHE use to ensure safe workplaces for everyone.
Forklift truck technicians are being injured at work, more often than not due to everyday tasks like manual handling or poor site conditions. UKMHA’s National Forklift Safety Day (NFSD) 2026 is focused on tackling this head-on, by equipping businesses and technicians with the knowledge and training they need to be safer around the workplace.
We’re providing three resources designed to help reduce risks and maintain safe working environments for forklift truck technicians. The aim is to sharply lower the number of on‑site accidents. These resources include the Safe Working Area Charter, a Site Induction Check Sheet, and an Animation outlining what should happen when a technician arrives.
We have released a series of downloadable digital assets you can use to promote the campaign and highlight best practices for forklift safety. We encourage you to actively engage with the campaign and promote its messages by utilising these freely available materials, including social media graphics, posters and email footers.
If you are posting on social media, be sure to use the hashtag #NFSD2026.
To access NFSD 2026’s digital assets and learn more about how you can get involved, please visit:
Employers have a duty to visiting technicians to ensure they are provided with a safe and appropriate working area. Find out more and help to protect visitors to your site by viewing our Safe Working Area Charter.
Our simple checklist identifies the most critical checks necessary when a technician visits your site.
Watch this short animation to find out what should happen when a technician arrives on your site.
Toolbox talks are a simple but effective way to reinforce safe working practices. Delivered by Elite Force Training, these videos will cover key risk areas such as van safety, site arrival, task-appropriate PPE, lifting loads, and LPG cylinder handling.
Read our report on workplace injuries experienced by MHE technicians to understand the scale of the problem, why and when accidents occur, and what can be done to reduce their incidence rate.
“Between 2019 and 2025 UK forklift suppliers lost, on average, more than 1,000 working days per year due to workplace injuries. According to UKMHA data, 85% of these incidents occurred to forklift technicians whilst working at customers’ premises. Surprisingly, more than 20% of injuries resulting in time off work are due to manual handling failings and 30% of the incidents occur when technicians aren’t even physically working on the MHE.”
David Goss – Technical Director, UKMHA
UKMHA member companies and supporting companies looking to contribute to NFSD 2025 can do so by sending us their own assets. If you have any resources that demonstrate how your business is putting NFSD’s key messages into action, be sure to send them and we will feature them on our ‘Member news and assets’ page.
