A recent Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) study done by Ray Calvin and published in an industrial Newsletter looked into the root causes of 323 Workplace fatalities.

Some of the fatalities were related to forklifts, some were crane related and some were related to lock-out tag-out procedures, but all had a common flaw, a fatal flaw.

The common flaw in all of the fatalities were found in statements from managers and supervisors at the accident sites. Every manager assumed their employees knew how to do their job safely!

Without exception workers at these facilities were quoted as believing that their bosses knew about job risks and would not ask them to do anything that endangered their safety.

Have you ever heard a manager or supervisor say "We don't need training, all of our people are experienced". Don't assume experienced workers aren't at risk. 258 of the 323 people killed on the job in this study were experienced.

Does "Old Charlie in the warehouse really have 30 years experience or does he only have 3 weeks experience repeated over 30 year?"

The Required Training in Powered Industrial
Trucks is not Limited to Forklifts.

Electric pallet jacks and so-called stock chasers are also included. What is a stock chaser? Stock chasers are a line of self-propelled utility vehicles that move resources, personal, cargo and tools around a job site. In addition, some of these vehicles are designed to tow heavy loads from a string of carts to a large 747 aircraft.

One of the more interesting stock chaser configuration is the so-called Charioteer, a small, narrow, electric three wheel vehicle that is driven from the standing position with breaking and speed controlled by shifting the drivers weight on a pivoting platform. Westinghouse and Legend Lestronic are brand names that you may run across. Larger more stable stock chasers are made by Taylor-Dunn. Cushman and Tug are also names you will run across. Many burden carriers/stock chasers have been converted to personnel carriers and can be seen at airports taking passengers to their gates.

Whatever the application of a powered industrial truck, personnel carrier, tow tractor or burden carrier, operators must be given training in 22 subject areas, both classroom and hands on. With speeds from 7mph to 25mph training in safe operation is important.

Professional Forklift Safety Training

Materials Handling Equipment Company has a dedicated Safety Training Department, specifically equipped to meet the strict requirements of OSHA required Powered Industrial Truck (Forklifts/Pallet Trucks etc.) safety education. Our Director of Training and Risk Management is a Nationally recognized expert on forklift safety and the training of adult employees. Our training is done at your worksite. Our trainer is equipped with TV, VCR, Overhead Projector and Operator Training Manuals for each of your employees. This is a professional safety presentation!

The training consists of three to three & ½ hours of entertaining, captivating discussions of not only the 22 subjects required by OSHA, but discussions on preventative maintenance of your equipment and ideas on reducing product damage and increasing productivity. The training is broken up into segments featuring lectures, video presentations and overhead transparencies. In addition to the classroom portion, each operator is given a written test (Spanish is available) as well as individual hands on worksite specific model orientation and hazard identification (up to 3 hours of hands on expertise!) Each operator is furnished a certificate of training as well as their own copy of the training manual. The employer is furnished documentation of training and evaluation for their OSHA required training file.

For more information, please call Materials Handling Equipment Company and ask for one of the professionals in Product Support or Mobile Equipment Sales or click here for our online Training Information Request.

Training Can and Will Prevent Accidents

I am reluctant to call the death of a 17-year old an accident. Lets look at the violations involved in the death of a young boy on July 15, 2000.

· Section 1910.178 - Final Rule (1) Safe Operation (2) The employer shall ensure that each powered industrial truck operator is competent to operate a powered industrial truck safely.
· United States Department of Labor rules on child labor state that drivers of forklifts must be 18 years of age or older.
· Section 1910.178 B - (ii) Prior to permitting an employee to operate a powered industrial truck, the employer shall ensure that each operator has successfully completed the train required in 22 areas and be both class room and hands on.

Operators of sit-down counterbalanced lift trucks must wear a seatbelt when the truck is so equipped by the lift truck manufacturer. The training that was not given to the dead boy would have included the following information:

· An unloaded counterbalanced forklift is more dangerous than a properly loaded forklift.
· Operators must be 18 years of age or older.
· It is the operator's responsibility to use a seat belt.
· No passengers or riders are ever allowed on a powered industrial truck.
· Forklifts must be driven at a safe speed.
· Extra care must be taken when driving over rough terrain.

ARE HARD HATS REQUIRED TO BE WORN BY FORKLIFT OPERATORS?

The answer is yes and no. The hazard of each workplace will govern the choice of personal protective equipment used. It is the employer's duty to determine if hard hats are required for his or her workplace. Here are some of the things that could place workers at risk:

· Physical hazards such as:
- Falling, moving, or flying objects.
- Heat or cold.
- Moving equipment or parts.
- Sharp objects.
· Forklift operators should wear a hard hat (helmet) whenever there is a danger of falling objects or bumping hazards such as:
- Working below other workers.
- Working around or under conveyor belts or machinery.
- Working in areas with low ceilings, hanging objects, or moving equipment.
- Working near exposed electrical conductor.

Please remember that the overhead guard on most forklifts was not designed to withstand a full load impact. A full load impact may crush an operator. Please remember also that the overhead guard has gaps or spaces that will allow small items to enter the operators area.

Hard hats are divided into three classes:
- Class A - Hardhats resist impact and penetration and provide low voltage electrical protection.
- Class B - Hardhats resist impact and penetration and provide protection from high-voltage electricity.
- Class C - Hardhats are most often made of stamped aluminum and provide impact and penetration resistance only. Never wear an aluminum hardhat around electricity.

17-YEAR OLD BOY CRUSHED BY FORKLIFT

On July 15th, 2000, a 17-year old boy with a 19-year old passenger was operating a forklift that rolled over in Bernhards Bay, New York, outside Syracuse.

The 17-year old untrained driver was at the controls of an un-loaded counterbalanced forklift, traveling at a high speed over rough ground when he made a sharp turn throwing his passenger out of the unit.

Neither the driver nor passenger were wearing seat belts. The 19-year old lost the use of her right leg when the cab's overhead guard caught the back of her leg. The boy was crushed under the weight of the 8,000-lb. forklift.

0ne-hundred people die in forklift accidents every year in the United States. On average we can expect 3 people to die each year in Colorado. As of August 2000, three people in Colorado have died due to powered industrial trucks accidents.

Enormous Cost of on the Job Hangovers

Dr. Jeffrey Wiese of the University of California recently published a report reviewing studies on alcohol done between 1966 and 1999. Among Dr. Wiese's findings was the fact that absenteeism costs employers in the U.S. about $148 billion per year.

One surprising fact uncovered by Dr. Wiese was that more than half the alcohol-related problems in the workplace are caused by so-called light drinkers, and 87 percent are caused by light to moderate drinkers. In one disturbing study, airline pilots who got drunk one night were asked to carry out routine maneuvers in a flight simulator the next morning. Although one half the pilots interviewed said they did not feel hung over, all performed below par. Dr. Wiese stated, "Even if you don't feel severely hung over, your cognitive abilities, concentration, and technical skills may actually be diminished. With inebriation, you're at least more aware of it perhaps then with a hangover."

Do not allow anyone to operate a forklift who is under the influence of alcohol or is hung over.

BATTERY SAFETY

Let's face it, you can not move a 1,500-lb. forklift battery by hand. Most battery accidents occur when the batteries are changed manually.

With the proposed implementation of lifting limits under the ergonomic standards, currently under review, it is important to plan improvements in the way you handle your batteries and other heavy objects at your work site. Materials Handling Equipment Company offers a full line of battery lifting equipment as well as Gantry Cranes and Mobile Floor Cranes.

FORKLIFT BATTERIES AND THE EPA

Do you wash your wash water? After your electric forklift and its battery has been washed there are two BI-products. There is (1) a clean battery and (2) highly contaminated wash water.

Wash water draining from your equipment becomes contaminated with heavy metals such as lead, copper, antimony, and sulfuric acid. When you wash any piece of industrial equipment you are generating waste. This waste makes you responsible and liable for the proper disposal of that waste.

Remember when lead-based paint was outlawed? The EPA has targeted seven toxic waste materials and lead is one of them. Lead may be found in your wash water.

A ¼ pound of lead will contaminate 500,000 gallons of water. Just a small amount of lead in your wash water can ruin the ground water supply. The EPA has strict fines for offenders.
There are many wastewater reclamation products on the market today; all of them have disposable filters.

What do you do with the waste filters when they are saturated with contaminates? Contaminated filters must be disposed of properly and the end user must have a "Certificate of Reclamation" on file, should the EPA review your site. Sounds like overkill does it not? The truth is, "The law is the law," and we all want to pass on a better world to our grand children.

Materials Handling Equipment Company has offices in Denver and Colorado Springs. We have trained technicians covering the State from Fort Collins to Grand Junction to Pueblo. We are near enough to help in training and other important areas. We can help you down if you get in trouble.

HERE IS A QUESTION FOR YOU TO ASK

Many managers honestly do not know or understand what needs to be done for the safety of their employees. Many think that they have a "trained, experienced crew". Do not assume anything when it comes to the safety of your employees.

Ask your managers, supervisors and employees about their training. Who? How? When? You might be in for a surprise.

LIFT TRUCK OPERATOR TRAINING REQUIREMENTS

POINTS THAT MUST BE COVERED IN TRAINING INCLUDE:

Equipment Topics:
- Vehicle stability and the factors that can affect and limit the safe use of a lift truck.
- Operating instructions, warning and precautions.
- Differences from automobiles.
- Controls and instrumentation.
- Engine or motor operation.
- Steering, maneuvering, lifting and placing a load.
- Visibility.
- Fork and attachment adaptation, operation and use.
- Vehicle capacity and stability.
- Vehicle inspection and maintenance that the operator will be required to perform.
- Refueling/charging and re-charging of batteries.
- Operating limitations, how to read an operators manual and data plate.

Workplace Topics:
- Surface conditions.
- Composition and stability of leads
- Load manipulation, stacking and un-stacking
- Pedestrian traffic
- Narrow aisles and restricted areas
- Operating in locations classified as hazardous
- Potentially hazardous environmental conditions
- Operating in closed environments or other areas where poor ventilation
or maintenance could cause carbon monoxide or diesel exhaust to build up.