In this roundtable discussion, four experts weigh in with best practices for the safe use of forklifts and the continued need for operator training.
One of the biggest challenges for manufacturing and warehousing companies is finding and retaining talent, and this disturbing statistic certainly is a factor: In OSHA’s ranking of the top 10 safety violations in the workplace, forklift operations came in seventh, as OSHA reported 2,093 violations involving forklifts in 2019. And according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, forklifts were the cause of 74 fatalities and 9,050 nonfatal workplace injuries or illnesses with days away from work in 2017. So in the wrong hands (particularly the untrained or undertrained), these vehicles are quite deadly indeed.
Seven years ago, EHS Today and its sister publication, Material Handling & Logistics, helped to launch National Forklift Safety Day, an annual event that focuses on the safe use of forklifts and the importance of operator training to foster a safety culture within manufacturing and distribution environments. Although this year’s event ended up virtual (due to the COVID-19 pandemic), we asked safety experts at several of the major forklift manufacturers to participate in a discussion of current efforts being made to improve overall warehouse safety, and what steps safety professionals should take to ensure that forklift operators and pedestrians alike go home safely every night.
Participating in the forklift safety roundtable (in alphabetical order) are:
• Don Buckman, EHS manager, Americas Division, Yale Materials Handling Corp.
• Ron Grisez, director of product safety, Crown Equipment.
• Jack Kaumo, director of iWAREHOUSE technology solutions, The Raymond Corporation.
• Tom Lego, brand ambassador, Toyota Material Handling.
Source: EHS Today