Forklifts are dangerous pieces of equipment—especially when proper care isn’t taken. One false move can cause extensive damage to your building and also harm your employees. Make sure you know the most common causes of forklift accidents and how to prevent them.
Causes of Forklift Accidents
It’s easy to blame the driver, but other factors lead to crashes and damage to property, inventory or worse. This includes the design of the workplace, work organization and operational malfunctions.
Here are some common causes of forklift accidents around warehouses:
- Lack of operator training
- The age of the forklift
- Speeding
- Carrying a large, elevated load
- Narrow or crowded aisles
- Obstacles
- Too much traffic around the warehouse
- Poor lighting
- Mechanical malfunctions
- Carrying a load that exceeds weight limit
Best Practices for Forklift Safety
Several precautions can be taken to keep your business safe for everyone.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issues safety guidelines that all material handling businesses should follow to reduce the hazards that can lead to forklift accidents. They’ve outlined several ways to maintain a safe work environment, even during your busiest hours.
- Make sure there is sufficient headroom for the forklift to pass under overhead installations (e.g., lights, pipes, sprinklers)
- Never exceed 5 mph when driving, and always slow down around congested areas
- Never handle loads that exceed the weight of the forklift
- Outfit your warehouse with guardrails, covers and posts to protect workers and property from damage
Find Material Handling Solutions from McCue
When you need to enhance the safety of your warehouse, trust the specialists at McCue. We specialize in material handling solutions including crash barriers, column guards, bollards, rack guards and more.
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Sources:
OSHA: https://www.osha.gov/Publications/3220_Warehouse.pdf
Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety: https://www.ccohs.ca/oshanswers/safety_haz/forklift/accident.html
