Fork Lift Truck Cage Proves a Success as Health and Safety Standards Become More Stringent

UK – A good idea remains a good idea, often despite the passing of the decades and this is very much the case with a product introduced at a time when Health & Safety did not have quite the same connotations or weight which it does today. A time when it was common for warehouse staff to change a light bulb up in the eaves of a depot whilst standing on the bare polished metal blades of a fork lift truck, or collate parcels high up from racking perching aloft on an unsecured wooden pallet, one company began to produce what has become now one of its most successful products.

Contact Attachments has manufactured its Forklift Safety Cages from its site in Newtown, Mid Wales, for over four decades. Suitable for the safe carrying of two persons, and as a safer alternative to ladders and a cheaper alternative to scaffolding, the Forklift Safety Cage has been designed with a strong and safe working deck for unscheduled or unplanned work, such as those racking inspections and light bulb replacements.

Most recently Contact has supplied its Economy Forklift Safety Cage to Elixair International Limited, a specialist in the removal of sealants on both civilian and military aircrafts. The safety cage was required to allow members of staff to carry-out unscheduled repairs and servicing to its factory’s emergency exit lamps, which automatically turn on in the event of a fire. Stephen Hills, Operations Director at Elixair, explained:

“With workplace health and safety legislation ever so stringent, we needed a product which would allow us to access the lights for repairs and maintenance in the safest possible manner. It was an economical purchase and is a valued piece of kit to have on standby. We were very happy with the build quality and Contact Attachments level of customer service.”

So, after more than forty years producing the same piece of kit, the cage design is still proving its worth for both customers and for Contact whose Technical Sales Director, Dave Manuel, observed:

“Our Forklift Safety Cages are designed and manufactured to conform fully to the HSE Guidance Note PM28 (Fourth Edition) and can be fitted safely and securely to the forks of a forklift truck. We can also manufacture our Forklift Safety Cages in bulk, resulting in savings for our customers through an economy range such as the one we supplied to Elixair.”