Archive for June, 2010
Forklift Safety 101
Forklifts are used all over the world on construction sites and industrial settings. Each year, forklift truck accidents account for tens of thousands of severe injuries or deaths across the globe. Forklift accidents are usually very serious. Oftentimes, forklift accidents result in leg or foot amputations.
A forklift is often the most dangerous piece of equipment used in a manufacturing facility, warehouse, grocery store, or construction site. Although heavy, their small size makes them prone to falling over on uneven surfaces, and their speed can contribute to collisions with people and property. Forklifts are usually operated in areas where there are pedestrians, whom are usually workers. Thus, a majority of forklift accident victims are workers.
The forklift load often obscures visibility for the forklift operator while going forward. Thus, with a load, forklifts should usually be operated going backwards. Sometimes traveling backwards creates blind spots for the operator whom has to operate the forklift while looking over their shoulder.
What are the causes of forklift accidents?
1. The forklift tipping over from overloading weight limits.
2. Employees or pedestrians being hit by forklifts.
3. The load falling off of the forklift.
4. Forklifts being used improperly to elevate people – being used as personnel lifts.
5. Forklifts accidentally being driven off loading docks.
6. Forklifts being used with a jib boom. Thus, the forklift is turned into a crane. The load swings and either hits a worker or causes the forklift to tip over.
7. Improper or no forklift maintenance such as malfunctioning of the brakes, steering, transmission, or hydraulic system.
8. Missing or malfunctioning safety devices can contribute to a forklift accident.
9. Lack of a roll over protection system which will prevent the forklift operator from being thrown or crushed in the event the forklift tips over.
10. Improper workplace design for forklift operation such as narrow or crowded aisles, a high level of foot traffic where the forklift is operated, vision obstructions, and other workplace conditions such as light and noise are all hazards that may contribute to a forklift accident.
11. Loss of forklift control by the operator.
12. Traveling too fast and causing the forklift to tip over.
13. Not using a spotter when visibility is limited.
14. Improper training.
Forklifts and OSHA
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) maintain a variety of measures that govern the use of forklifts for companies that fall under federal jurisdiction. Individual states over the years have developed State Occupational Safety and Health Administration plans as well. California OSHA, for example has forklift safety requirements, such as, Cal. Code of Regulations Title 8 CCR
Occupational Safety And Successful Habits
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is a U.S. Department of Labor organization devoted to the health and safety of American workers. They offer various tactics to reduce MSD’s (musculoskeletal disorders) in the workplace. Their Outreach and Assistance program, designed to interface with workers directly, is one of four in their “four-pronged” approach to aiding the prevention of musculoskeletal disorders in the workplace. The other aspects of the “four-pronged” approach are: Guidelines, Enforcement and the National Advisory Committee.
Ergonomics is the science of designing and maintaining products, machines and work environments that cause the least stress upon the human body and result in the fewest instances of injury and discomfort. The four prongs of the Occupational Safety & Health Administration’s approach to ergonomic safety have different areas of focus. The Enforcement branch has to do with the inspections carried out by this and other organizations to assure that work environments are as safe as they can be. When they find organizations that violate standards of ergonomic safety they alert authorities and attempt to alter the situation. The National Advisory Committee branch controls the applications of research related to the study of ergonomics. The Guidelines branch develops industry specific guidelines based on statistics related to ergonomic industries in the workplace. Finally, the Outreach and Assistance branch helps businesses, small and large alike, identify and apply good practices in ergonomics to their workplaces to increase the safety and comfort of their employees.
OSHA releases studies on specific industries to help those industries create a more ergonomically satisfying environment for their employees. One such industry is the Retail Grocery industry. They first identified some of the risks particularly associated with employment in the Retail Grocery industry, specifically, force, repetition, awkward posture and static postures. OSHA maintains that these factors dramatically increase the chances of the Retail Grocery employee of serious injuries and illnesses such as, muscle strains and back injuries, tendonitis, carpal tunnel syndrome, rotator cuff injuries, Epicondylitis and trigger finger. OSHA identifies certain activities, such as stacking shelves, that place employee’s bodies in awkward positions that they must maintain for a period of time. Some of their solutions are as simple as the following, related to icing produce. They recommend a better ice machine that takes the stress of scooping and loading ice away from the worker by letting gravity and the ice machine pour ice into buckets on a cart below the machine. In this way, the ice is ready to be transported when the worker approaches the machine, cutting any bending, scooping and lifting the employee might otherwise have had to perform and making the overall experience more physically pleasant.