Forklift Safety – You Can Save A Life Today

Welcome to the New Year. This month, I would like to cover forklift safety.

How many of you have recently visited a Home Depot, Lowe's, Sam’s Club, or other places where they are using material handling equipment? If you have visited these places recently, what did you notice happening when workers are using these machines? Did you see them blocking off the aisles? Did they have a person in front of the forklift and piece of material handling equipment holding a set of red or orange flags and making sure nobody was put at harm?

The answer to these questions is probably yes. Why were they doing this, and who do you think you played an important part in making this safety improvement happen across the United States? I would like you to go to YouTube and type in my name, Jack Podojil or John Podojil. I can tell you that I was shocked at what I saw, but now I know in my heart that I now have made a difference in people and especially children, not being injured by falling merchandise or being struck by these types of vehicles.

Forklift accidents account for 61,800 minor injuries, 34,900 serious injuries, and 85 forklift-related deaths every year, according to OSHA estimates. With almost 900,000 forklifts in operation at any given time in the United States, those numbers amount to a 1 in 10 chance that each forklift working in your facility will be involved in an accident this year. That’s not great odds for the safety record at your facility – someone at your facility could be injured this year due to a forklift accident.

Forklift collisions account for about 46% of total forklift accidents, including crush injuries where personnel are trapped between two forklifts, between a forklift and a stationary surface, or where pedestrians are struck by a forklift. The numbers clearly show that the odds are against you unless you take action to mitigate those risks. We all know education is an important element in increasing safety, but it works only as well as the training done and the attentiveness of both drivers and pedestrians. More must be done in key areas of collision prevention, traffic control, and pedestrian safety measures to reduce your risks.

The Risk and Reality of Forklift Operations

Powered industrial equipment has greatly improved productivity in manufacturing, warehouse, and distribution operations. Forklifts and hand trucks allow one employee to do the work of several in moving large quantities of materials and handling awkward loads. Storage space usage has improved due to palletizing and the ability to stack materials higher, utilizing more of the storage cube.

While all these benefits have improved materials handling, the potential for serious injury and death has also increased. The sheer mass of a forklift can be equivalent to a full-size sedan, and although speeds are relatively low, because of that dense mass, the potential for accidents is a serious issue in the workplace. Fortunately, the frequency of accidents is fairly low – but when an accident does occur, it can have devastating results.

Because of this potential for accidents and injuries in the workplace, it is important to institute safety measures regarding forklift operation and employee safety. As you implement these safety measures, you will find that forklift safety is not just the operator’s responsibility. It also includes pedestrians entering and working in forklift traffic zones.

Training and OSHA Requirements

Federal and State OSHA programs have specific training requirements. I am amazed that, after 43 years in this field, where I have operated forklifts myself, inspected forklifts as a state and federal OSHA compliance officer, and have written and implemented formal forklift programs and now teach certified material handling courses for the companies that I work for as a consultant, and I now also act as an expert witness when it comes to forklift accidents, how much operators, supervisors, and especially people and managers do not know about the safety regulations and how to operate these vehicles safely.

Here is a list of what an employer must do to ensure that the operators are properly trained. If your company follows these training requirements, you may just be able to save a life as well.

Training Program Implementation

■ First, please ensure that the operator has read and understood the information that is found in the owner's / operator’s manual. If they do not do this, they have not been properly trained.

■ Trainees may only operate a powered industrial truck under the direct supervision of persons who have the knowledge, training, and experience to train operators and evaluate their competence, and where such operation does not endanger the trainee or other employees.

■ Training shall consist of a combination of formal instruction (e.g., lecture, discussion, interactive computer learning, videotape, written material), practical training (demonstrations performed by the trainer and practical exercises performed by the trainee), and evaluation of the operator's performance in the workplace.

■ All operator training and evaluation shall be conducted by persons who have the knowledge, training, and experience to train powered industrial truck operators and evaluate their competence. Watch out if you use online training, for I have found that it usually is generic in value and misses many important issues. Also, you have to ensure that the operator is still trained under the guidance of a person who knows the industrial truck that they are training the student on.

For more information on forklift operations and safety, please read ANSI B56.1, read and understand the manufacturer's owners/operators manuals, and also read the OSHA requirements that are found in 29 CFR 1910.178. This is your best guidance for operating forklifts and other types of vehicles safely.

Should you have any questions, as always, you can reach me by writing to me at johnpodojil@iashep.org