Forklift Accidents

Avoiding A Forklift Accidents - Making Your Work Environment Safer

By Ernest Jarquio

Forklifts provide a useful benefit to all warehouses and loading docks, not to mention the usefulness of a forklift on a construction site. OSHA has very strict requirements for the certification of anyone who will be operating a forklift. This training is done to ensure that the person not only knows how to safely operate the forklift but also what to do in an emergency situation. Training can give an operator the needed safety procedures that should be followed while operating a forklift. However it cannot make them follow them. If training were a surefire way of eliminating the risk of a forklift accident, there wouldn't be the high number that there is everyday.

Preventable Accidents

Statistics have shown that everyday there are around 260 such accidents. There are about 95,000 per year that happen. On average about every three days a person is killed in one of these accidents. Some of these accidents could have been prevented.

The injuries to persons involved are not always to the operator but often to a person working in the vicinity of the forklift's operation. All people who work around forklifts should also be trained on how to watch out for these heavy-duty machines that are carrying heavy loads.

Effect On Productivity

While operators are trained in safety procedures some still find this big machine to be an over sized toy. This should never be the case but sadly it is and supervisors should do more to ensure that all work conditions are kept safe. To most business people safety is not factored into the discussion of productivity and profits. With poor safety due to an operator not operating a forklift safely, productivity goes downs, as do the profits.

Safety should be a team effort in preventing a forklift accidents. Not all accidents are the operator's fault due to neglect. Some accidents happen when circumstances change and an unforeseen hazard is presented. Worn out parts on the forklift can lead to this unforeseen hazard.

Pre-Operation Inspections

Therefore it is extremely important that pre-operation inspections are done every time prior to using the forklift. This will help the operator to have a better chance of spotting any malfunction prior to an accident happening. Should anything look off with the forklift, it should not be operated until a repair technician has checked the forklift over and cleared it for operations.

When all workers observe forklift safety procedures and adhere to OSHA regulations, the numbers of forklift accidents will declines. This creates a safer work environment for all workers. It also increases productivity and company profits. It reduces the amount of damage to equipment and thus reduces equipment costs that are associated with the repair and replacement of damaged forklifts. This is a win-win situation for all workers as well as for the company.