UNITED KINGDOM / AGILITYPR.NEWS / October 21, 2026 / The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) launched a new noise and vibration campaign on 13 October, during Bone and Joint Health Week, urging employers to act before workers are harmed rather than after. 

Around 15,000 people develop hearing problems caused or made worse by work every year, and HSE estimates one in five workers is exposed to harmful noise. 

Its central warning is that people often don't realise they're being affected until symptoms appear, by which point some damage may be permanent. The campaign asks employers to assess the risk, control it, and protect people where some risk remains. The control step includes maintaining tools and machinery.

Handling equipment may not immediately come to mind when it comes to this campaign, but the principle carries over to the pallet trucks, stackers and lift tables that fulfilment businesses work with every day.

Wear on equipment shows up over time. Wheels flatten, steering stiffens, hydraulics slow, and on electric trucks the battery holds a little less charge each month. Nothing fails outright, so nothing gets reported. Staff simply adapt, and the extra effort is absorbed by whoever is using it that shift.

Phil Chesworth, Managing Director at Pallet Trucks UK, said, "Nobody rings us to say their pallet truck got a bit stiffer last Tuesday. It happens gradually, and the people using it adjust without noticing. A harder shove here, a couple of extra pumps there. You can carry on like that for months, and by the time somebody's struggling, it's been going on for a long while.

"I'd rather a business had a routine than relied on someone complaining. Ten minutes once a month is plenty. Does it roll freely? Does it lift to full height? On an electric truck, is the battery still holding a decent charge through a full shift? If you can feel it getting harder, that effort is being passed on to somebody's back and shoulders.

"With the busiest weeks of the year coming up for online retailers, it's a good time to check. A piece of equipment that was fine through summer can show its age quickly once it's working flat out."

For more information, please visit: www.pallettrucksuk.co.uk.