Posted By Gwahir
Hi Guys,

Quick question; is it law that a driver of a FLT needs to have a refresher every 3 years, many thanks.

Graham

Posted By Thomas Kennedy
I telephoned one of the training providers recently (I gather I'm not allowed to say who - it upsets some people!!).

Was told that frequency of refresher training was dependent upon level of use - 3 year(infrequent) and 5 year (frequent use) periods were quoted to me.

Tommy

Posted By JD Chalmers
Sorry have to disagree, the guidance does not recommend refresher training every 3 years. Please read the ACOP L117Rider Operated Lift Trucks:Operator Training. I have quoted section 47 below.
"There is no specific requirement to provide refresher training after set intervals, but even trained and experienced lift-truck operators need to be re-assessed from time to time to ensure that they continue to operate lift trucks safely. This assessment, which should form part of a firm's normal
monitoring procedure and be formally time-tabled to ensure that it is done at
reasonable intervals, will indicate whether any further training is needed. In addition to routine safety monitoring, re-assessment might be appropriate where operators have not used trucks for some time, are occasional users,
appear to have developed unsafe working practices, have had an accident or near miss, or there is a change in their working practices or environment.
Employers may find it useful to record re-assessment in their safety monitoring records. Employers can, of course, decide that automatic retraining after a set period of time is the best way of ensuring that employees are adequately trained but, where this approach is adopted, it will still be necessary to
monitor performance in case retraining is required before the set period ends.
The guiding principle is that employers need to maintain the competence of operators to use lift trucks safely through a laid down, formal process of monitoring and assessment."

As you can see there is no requirement for formal refresher training, indeed it points out that that may not fully meet the requirements, what is required is a formal time tabled assessment along with continuous monitoring.