THE former Bulmers' plant at Hereford, now known as Heineken Hereford, has been praised for the safety of its fork lift truck operation.

A finalist in the safe site category of the Fork Lift Truck Association annual awards at The International Centre in Telford, the cider and beer producer was given "highly commended" status.

The company's initiative ‘The Perfect Fork Lift Experience greatly impressed the FLTA judging panel. Set up by a team of truck operators to address the problem of new fork lifts declining from showroom condition, it aimed to find novel ways of improving colleagues’ understanding of safety and maintenance checks as well as safe operation. The resulting improvements were tied in with the company values of Quality, Enjoyment and Respect.

Heineken Hereford now has a large team of highly engaged and motivated operators with the ability and enthusiasm to identify problems and maintain their trucks, which means a safer workplace for all.

FLTA chief executive Peter Harvey said: "In the safe site section of our awards we recognise teams who have looked carefully at their site and the way in which fork lift trucks are used on it, identified any weaknesses, put them right and seen improvements in safety as a result. Other companies can learn a lot from the fine example set by Heineken.”