The Top 7 Forklift Safety Tips to Reduce Accidents and Injuries
When operating heavy equipment, safety should always be first priority. There are many risks that come with equipment like forklifts that must be taken seriously. While their power makes them great tools to use in moving materials and supplies around warehouses and construction sites, it also makes them very dangerous if not used safely. That's why forklift safety training, rules, and tips should be covered extensively with both the staff who drive equipment and those who work around them.
It has been reported by OE Attachments that 70% of forklift injuries would be preventable if safety measures were practiced and standardized more. It's also reported that there are about 35,000 serious forklift injuries a year and around 62,000 less serious forklift injuries a year. The aggregate of these injuries results in approximately 85 forklift-related deaths a year.
Reducing these unnecessary injuries by 70% would be a huge win in terms of lives saved, man-hours lost due to injury, and overall safety negligence that can result in serious fines from governing bodies like OSHA. Here are 7 tips for how to reduce forklift-related injuries:
Tip #1: Do Equipment Walkarounds
A great idea before operating any piece of equipment, walkarounds require just a few minutes and can save equipment operators from safety risks and machine repair costs. During a walkaround, you're looking for several things: wear and tear on the tires, any signs of stress on the machine, fuel levels in the forklift, any loose pins, brake pedal functionality, steering, unusual sounds, the lift and tilt mechanisms, and anything else that is easily observable before even pressing the gas pedal.
Although this process may feel arduous, it really should be quick and efficient. We even recommend creating a daily walkaround checklist that your operators can hang within the forklift cab to make sure they've covered the bases and reduce any unnecessary forklift accidents. Walkarounds are a very efficient and effective way to reduce forklift accidents.
Tip #2: Observe Your Surroundings
In warehouses, there are many tight turns and corners as well as other obstructions like hanging lights, endless shelves, and things like wires, boxes, and crates on the ground. And depending on the size and shape of what the forklift is trying to move, your visibility could be extremely limited.
If the item is smaller, make sure you're constantly checking for any obstructions that might be on the floor. If the item is bigger and it is impossible to drive in reverse, we recommend operating the forklift as a two-man job with one of your coworkers giving hand signals or verbal communication about where you are going. Driving in reverse if the load is obstructing your view is the best approach as your vision will be less blocked. However, driving in reverse can be difficult and you should be aware of what is in front of you as well as maneuvering the actual lift could be more challenging.
On construction sites, there may not be as many obstacles like lights and shelves, but depending on the job, tight corners, obstacles on the forklift's path, and wires are still going to be a problem. Just because you might think you have more room doesn't mean you should drive without the same level of observation and focus that you would have in a tight space like a warehouse.
Tip #3: Drive Safely
Just like a roller coaster, you should be keeping your arms, legs, and hands inside the moving forklift at all times. If traveling on a flat surface, the forks should be as low to the ground as possible and tilted up while avoiding any floor obstructions, as mentioned above. When traveling on an incline, point the forklifts uphill and vice versa if traveling on a decline. Always turn a forklift on flat land and avoid turning on a slope or grade at all costs.
If there are any traffic signs inside the warehouse, you should be obeying them every single time. The same goes for driving in residential areas or outdoor environments. When going around a corner, always honk your horn, another thing to test during your walkaround, in order to let people know you're coming. And always keep an eye out for wet areas, oil spots, pedestrians, co-workers, holes, rough environments, or any other types of spills that could alter the safety of operation and travel.
Also, when driving, make sure to go at safe speeds. Forklifts can go deceptively fast if not careful and since they're operated mostly in confined spaces with lots of people around, going fast can be extremely dangerous.
Tip #4: Be Aware of Fork Positions
We touched on this above when driving on inclines and declines, but maintaining good fork positioning is extremely important. The forks should be low at all times if driving on flat land and should never be moving heavy things at max height. The only time you should be raising and lowering forks is when you are stopped and ready to load or unload whatever you are lifting.
Make sure that you are watching out for any obstructions during this process as well. When taking something off a shelf, the first thing you should be doing is lowering the load to near ground level in order to transport the product. You will also want to be conscious of the width of the forks as you move since weight disbursement will be different for each type of material you're handling.
Tip #5: Know Your Forklift and Don't Go Over Load Capacity
Every type and size of forklift has different load capacity specifications. The operator of the forklift should be aware of these specs at all points in time. One of the easiest and surefire ways to type a forklift is to lift a load that is too heavy for the designated forklift and the most common forklift accident is having the machine tip. Ensuring you don't go over the load capacity will provide more stability and security to the lift as well.
Tip #6: Try Implementing a Floor Marking System
Very popular for guiding automated robots in warehouses, floor marking systems are great ways to increase safety and efficiency with forklift operations. All you're essentially doing is implementing the ideas of roads and sidewalks into your warehouse operations. By doing this, you can create lanes and avenues specifically for forklifts and pathways for other workers in order to minimize traffic and the risk of accidents.
Tip #7: Get Your Forklifts Checked Often
Maintaining equipment is one of the most important things you can do for your business. These machines go through a high amount of stress on a day-to-day basis. While it's a stress they are built for, getting forklifts checked by professionals and servicing them for brakes, forks, fluids, and overall functionality is necessary for making sure your operators and employees feel safe.
The Main Causes of Forklift Accidents
As we mentioned earlier, the main cause of forklift accidents is overall avoidance or negligence of safety principles. This includes driving at dangerous speeds, lack of proper tools and attachments, improper turning, braking, or backing up techniques, parking poorly, stunt driving, and improper communication techniques. These are all extremely avoidable accidents with just a little bit of focus, proper training, and building a culture of safety.
Other causes of accidents include aging forklifts, poor maintenance, and inadequate servicing. While these have less to do with the actual operation of the forklift, they are still crucial in improving the safety practices at your company.
How You Can Improve Forklift Safety At Your Company
The first thing you can do is make sure that everyone at your company who is operating a forklift has extensive training and is getting re-certified on a consistent basis. While this may seem obvious, people can lie about their training or whether they are officially certified. The best way to avoid this issue is to sponsor their certification through your company and give them a budget to get trained.
The second way to improve forklift safety is to create walkaround checklists as well as safety posters. You can print these out and put them in both the lunch room and on the forklift itself. This will be a constant reminder to your staff to ensure they're practicing proper safety protocols and also provide an accountability system that ensures they're enforcing the protocols as well.
The third way would be to provide proper maintenance to your forklift equipment. Whether that's hiring your company's service professional or outsourcing it to another company, having your machinery go through regular checks will definitely help you proactively stop forklift accidents.
To summarize, the top 7 forklift safety tips to reduce accidents are:
- Do daily equipment walkarounds
- Observe your surroundings
- Drive safely
- Be aware of fork positioning
- Know your forklift
- Implement a floor marking system
- Get your forklifts checked
If you're in the market for renting a forklift, check out DOZR Marketplace. We provide access to forklifts available for rent ranging from 3,000 to 60,000 lbs capacity including cushion tire forklifts, pneumatic tire forklifts, and rough terrain forklifts. All forklift rental options are based on location so that you can make sure you're getting a forklift near you.
