The Basics of Forklift Safety (Part 1)

Do you remember the movie "Christine", the 1958 Plymouth fury with attitude based on a book by Stephen King?

You may not have a killer car in your warehouse out for revenge but chances are you've got one or more forklifts in it with the same destructive power. The fact is that the average forklift weighs as much as a medium-sized dump truck and, because it's small and most often a lot quieter than a dump truck, it can become a very real source of danger to your employees. Additionally, because forklifts are used to transport heavy and bulky loads, its potential for injury goes up even more.

Forklifts are also used to load content onto trucks and semis which means that they are often working on docks and crossing spans between the dock and the truck bed, furthering the changes of an accident. Because forklifts are built to be more maneuverable than other vehicles (they usually have to get into very tight spaces, turn on a dime, etc…) they are more prone to stability issues and can be more easily flipped and tipped.

This writer has personally been involved in a forklift injury when a truck driver who had not checked to make sure that the back of the truck was closed and the steel plate removed, assumed all the loading was done and drove away suddenly leaving the back end of the forklift on the dock and the front end hanging in mid-air. I was fortunately younger and more agile than I am now (some 28 years ago now) and managed to jump clear before the forks planted in the asphalt and the forklift flipped over on its side (it fortunately tipped the opposite way from the way that I jumped). I came away unscathed. All over the county each year there are many others who aren't so fortunate.

Most of us understand that forklift operators need to receive proper training and be certified. Few of us think about the fact that the forklift operators aren't the only ones at risk.

Types of accidents caused by forklifts

1. Pedestrians hit by moving forklift (This includes pedestrians hit by any part of the forklift, whether while the operator is driving or while the operator is maneuvering)
2. Unstable loads that fall on pedestrians
3. Danger of impalement to pedestrians
4. Injuries to operators because of tipping over or rolling over
5. Injuries to workers improperly standing on or working on the fork arms or loads.
6. Operators falling off the forklift
7. Person(s) being overcome by the exhaust fumes from a forklift
8. Injury from shelving or other objects that are hit by forklifts