Forklift Work Platform Inspections

What forklift work platform inspections are required?

Forklift trucks are built to move materials. A platform on the forks is a people-lifting arrangement, and the law treats it as such.

LOLER requires lifting operations to be planned and lifting equipment used to lift people to be thoroughly examined by a competent person at least every six months, or at the interval in a written examination scheme. That examination covers the platform and the truck in that use — not last year’s goods-only certificate on the counterbalance.

PUWER still applies to both items as work equipment. The Work at Height Regulations require the employer to choose suitable access equipment for the task. HSE guidance in PM28 is specific on non-integrated platforms: they are for exceptional use, they must be compatible with the truck, and there must be a pre-use check of the platform when it is fitted, including the risk of the truck overturning.

These books and tags record the site check before someone stands in the cage. They do not decide whether a non-integrated platform is the right equipment, and they do not replace the six-monthly thorough examination.

What should a forklift work platform pre-use check cover?

Check the platform after it is on the forks, not while it is leaning against the racking. The combination matters as much as the cage.

The Forklift Work Platform Inspection Books are written for non-integrated man baskets. The product listing covers harness anchor points, primary locking mechanisms, fork pockets, toe boards and the access gate.

Before anyone is lifted, the competent person on the floor should also confirm:

• The platform is the one identified for that truck, with SWL and any truck list still legible
• Fork pockets sit fully on the forks and the locking devices are engaged
• Floor, guardrails and toe boards are complete, with the gate closing and staying closed
• Harness anchor points are present and undamaged if the risk assessment requires a harness
• The truck parking brake is on, mast and tilt are as the platform maker requires, and the planned lift stays inside the truck’s capacity

If the platform does not lock to the forks, or the gate will not stay shut, it is not used. A mid-air fault is too late to record.

How the Good to Go inspection system works

The tag belongs on the platform, at the point someone would step in.

1. Fit the platform to the approved truck and complete the work-platform checklist.
2. The top copy goes into the status tag so the cage shows as good to go or do not use, with the date visible.
3. The carbon copy stays in the book as the site record.
4. An anti-tamper seal closes the tag so yesterday’s sheet cannot be left in for this morning’s lift.
5. After the job, if the platform comes off the truck, the next fitting needs a new check — the last tag is not a standing approval.

Daily kits suit platforms that go on and off several times a week. Weekly kits suit a recorded weekly inspection where that is what has been set. Neither interval is the six-month thorough examination.

Holders and the inspection station keep the current book with the cage or on the warehouse wall, not in a van.

Choose the right forklift work platform inspection products

The printed items for this attachment are the book and the poster. The rest is shared Good to Go hardware.

• Forklift Work Platform Inspection Books – 25 Checklists — carbon-copy pre-use sheets for non-integrated forklift man baskets.
• Create Your Own Inspection Books – 25 Checklists — blank books if the house checklist or an unusual cage is not covered by the printed list.
• Equipment Inspections – Daily Checklist Kits — choose the forklift work platform option. Checklists, tags, seals, wallet and pen for frequent fitting.
• Equipment Inspections – Weekly Checklist Kits — the same system on a weekly recorded cycle.
• Good To Go Safety Status Tag and Anti-Tamper Seals (Pack of 100) — fit on the platform, not only on the truck cab.
• Weather Resistant Inspection Holder, Check Book Wallet & Pen and Equipment Inspection Book Dispenser — keep the book with the equipment.
• Inspection Information Station and Equipment User Manuals – Document Holder — wall storage for books, PM28 notes and the platform instructions.
• Forklift Work Platform Inspection – A2 Safety Poster — wipe-clean reminder of the pre-use points.

Inspect the truck itself on the forklift truck book. Inspect a MEWP on the MEWP book. One sheet cannot cover all three.

Who these products are for

They are for sites that still use a cage on the forks and have to prove it was checked before the lift:

• Warehouse and factory teams using a man basket for occasional high-level work
• Maintenance and facilities staff fitting a platform to a designated truck
• Supervisors who must see a dated tag before anyone leaves the floor
• Hire desks issuing a platform and truck as a combination
• Safety managers keeping pre-use records between six-month examinations

If the work is regular or complex, a MEWP is often the more suitable machine. These products support the check when a forklift platform is the chosen method; they do not make an unsuitable method compliant.

Forklift work platform inspection FAQs

How often does a forklift work platform need a thorough examination?
At least every six months, or as set in an examination scheme, because it is lifting equipment used to lift people. The truck used with it needs examining for that use as well.

Is the pre-use check the same as that examination?
No. The pre-use check is done each time the platform is fitted and used. The thorough examination is a detailed inspection by a competent person, with a written report.

Can I use the standard forklift inspection book for the cage?
No. The forklift book is for the truck. This book is for the platform. Complete both when the combination is used.

Do these products cover integrated and non-integrated platforms?
The listed inspection book is described for non-integrated forklift man baskets. Confirm the printed checklist against an integrated platform before you rely on it; use Create Your Own if it does not match.

Where should the status tag go?
On the platform, at the access point. A tag on the truck cab only tells you about the truck.

Does a completed book mean a non-integrated platform is acceptable under PM28?
No. PM28 is about when this method may be used at all, and how the truck and platform must work together. The book records the check. It does not replace the risk assessment or the thorough examination.

Free UK mainland delivery on orders over £50. Trade discounts and bespoke options are available if you need a different checklist layout or larger packs.