News
The Australian Forklift and Industrial Truck Association (AFITA) exhibited and gave presentations at the Brisbane WHS Show, Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre 31 May–1 June 2023. AFITA have been an Industry association Partner of the WHS Show since 2018.
The winner of the inaugural AFITA H&E Grant Industry Award was Stan Palmer, Product Safety Standards and Engineering Manager, Toyota Materials Handing Australia (TMHA).
In 2023, the Australian Forklift and Industrial Truck Association (AFITA) created an award to honour an individual or individuals from Australian forklift industry who have made an outstanding contribution to the value, recognition or reputation of the industry.
Eligibility: To be eligible for the AFITA Industry Award, the nominee:
The Prize is to be awarded annually and presented at the AFITA Annual Dinner which will be held in 2023 in Brisbane on 1 June 2023.
Nominations are to be made in the form of a submission of no more than 500 words forwarded to the AFITA Executive Officer, Sue Hart.
The closing date for nominations for the 2023 AFITA Industry Award is
5 May 2023.
Following our news item of March 2022 regarding “rebirthing” of flood damaged Forklift Trucks
In early December 2023 AFITA wrote to the Insurance Council of Australia and the Hon Tony Burke MP, Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations expressing concern regarding the potential for flood damaged forklifts to be “rebirthed” following write-off and asking for the removal of name plates prior to the sale of written off machines to ensure they are only used for parts.
In April 2018 what is now the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW) commenced an evaluation for a national approach to manage emissions from non-road diesel engines.
On 25 March 2022 , Jeffrey Owen was sentenced to five years jail, suspended having served 18 months imprisonment, over a workplace incident in which his friend was crushed to death by a falling generator being moved with a forklift from the back of a truck.
On the afternoon of Sunday 23 January 2022, a lithium-ion battery attached to a cordless impact wrench exploded after it was left on the back seat of a vehicle over the weekend. The explosion ignited other material left on the seat and severely damaged the interior of the vehicle.
The incident occurred in Darwin where the outside temperature at the time was approximately 31°. The cordless impact wrench and battery was manufactured by a reputable company.
More information is available in the safety alert issued by WorkSafe NT, here
Currently, there is evidence of Japanese Encephalitis Virus (JEV) circulation in pigs in South-Eastern Queensland, New South Wales, Northern Territory, Victoria and South Australia – (Link)
Safe Work Australia has developed new work health and safety (WHS) guidance on Japanese encephalitis for persons conducting a business or undertaking.
Toyota Material Handling Australia (TMHA) has welcomed one of its biggest crops of forklift technician apprentices in its 2022 Annual Apprentice Intake, with 15 new inductees brought into the program.
An induction ceremony on April 21 saw the 15 new apprentices attend accompanied by mentors from their respective TMHA branches, where they were welcomed by senior TMHA executives including president CEO Steve Takacs. Mr Takacs also presented the new apprentices with their tools of the trade, marking a significant investment directly to the inductees.
The NSW Resources Regulator has issued a safety alert regarding an forklift roll over incident on a NSW mine site recently.
The incident occurred with an unladen forklift moving at speed.
The operator was was wearing his seat belt and received only minor injuries despite the severity of the accident.
The full incident report is available here