Simple Steps to Improve Forklift Safety
Forklifts are essential in many workplaces, especially in the warehousing and manufacturing industries. However, they are also one of the leading causes of worksite accidents and injury. Because they move and turn quickly and frequently travel in reverse they present a huge threat to the safety of nearby pedestrian workers in particular. Thankfully, employers and operators can minimize these threats if they follow some simple safety steps.
ONE
Only drive a forklift after you have received thorough training on safe operating procedures and site-specific safety considerations.
Employers have a duty of care to ensure that operators are fully trained in driving their particular machines. Clear and precise instructions should also be available regarding specific considerations for particular worksites.
TWO
Wear a seatbelt at all times while operating a forklift. If it does not have a seat belt, have one installed.
While increasingly rare, forklifts without this most basic of safety precautions can still be found. Ensuring seat belts are fitted, working and used should be mandatory on all worksites.
THREE
Understand the operating limitations of the forklift and never exceed the rated load.
Ensure that operators are fully trained in driving their particular machine in a range of conditions. Productivity demands on worksites, particularly distribution warehouses, can create difficult working environments. Ensuring pedestrian workers are kept clear of mobile machines can be challenging. Make sure there is enough clearance when raising and lowering materials and there is a safe distance from platform and ramp edges. Never turn around on sloped surfaces.
FOUR
Conduct regular safety inspections to ensure the machine is in good working order.
Regular maintenance of the machine can be challenging when operational efficiencies require postponement of maintenance schedules. Making this a priority is simply a reflection of a proactive safety culture.
FIVE
Watch out for and communicate with pedestrian workers. Create safe forklift operating paths and evaluate intersections and blind corners.
As the statistics and recent forklift accidents demonstrate, watching for pedestrians may be the most important on the list. Mobile equipment and its load can easily hit or crush nearby employees. Therefore, any workplace that requires pedestrians to work near mobile equipment, like forklifts, must take pedestrian safety seriously and implement protective measures to keep their workers safe.
How SEEN Safety can help
SEEN Safety has addressed the persistent global issue of pedestrian safety head-on with our world-class safety sensor. Through cutting-edge technology, our sensors have improved workplace safety for countless pedestrian workers who spend their days near forklifts and other mobile equipment.
SEEN’s sensors are particularly effective in distribution centers, manufacturing, and logistics warehouses. Our sensors are designed to detect when an employee has entered a critical area around a forklift. For example, if a worker enters the area behind a reversing machine, the sensor will audibly alert the driver.
No tags are needed. The sensor detects the reflective tape commonly found in most PPE. By using patented laser technology our sensors transform the humble high vis vest into part of an active pedestrian proximity safety system.
People make mistakes, and unfortunately, mistakes with large equipment like forklifts can have catastrophic results. Increasingly regulators are demanding more than the implementation of passive safety measures. SEEN Safety’s sensors give owners and operators the peace of mind to know that even if they make a mistake, there is always something there watching their back.
