£80,000 fine after forklift collision: temporary changes require revised risk assessment
Leggett & Platt Components Europe was fined £80,000 after a ride-on pallet truck collided with a forklift. HSE found temporary changes to workplace transport routes had not been properly risk assessed.
Temporary route changes created new risk
HSE reported on 23 October 2026 that Leggett & Platt Components Europe Limited was fined £80,000 and ordered to pay £3,374 costs after a 20-year-old worker suffered fractures and nerve damage when his ride-on pallet truck collided with a forklift.
The company had changed workplace transport routes during installation of new automated machinery. HSE found the changes increased vehicle interaction in a busy loading area with limited visibility, but the revised arrangements had not been properly risk assessed.
Why plant and lifting teams should note it
The prosecution was about workplace transport rather than a lifting operation, but the management lesson applies directly to changing construction sites: controls must be reviewed when routes, work fronts, plant positions or interfaces change.
- Reassess plant routes when site layouts change.
- Review pedestrian and vehicle segregation.
- Consider visibility, congestion and simultaneous operations.
- Update RAMS and brief affected operators.
- Treat temporary arrangements with the same discipline as permanent controls.
LiftPlanProUK provides planning and management support. Site-specific information must be checked and every lifting operation approved by a competent person.