Can OSHA Deregulations Affect Forklift Safety

Depending on the administration in office, there’s a constant rollercoaster ride of OSHA compliance versus deregulation with on again, off again scenarios. As ISHN points out, OSHA regulations come with costs that can drain a business of funds, which can lead to high operational costs and lower revenue opportunities. Without it, there are other factors to consider such as medical costs, damages, hiring, and of course the company’s reputation. As we know, when something is mobile, there’s risk. Can OSHA deregulations affect forklift safety?

Workplace Safety Costs in 2022

Before we take a look at how OSHA deregulations affect forklift safety, let’s take a look at costs with OSHA regulations. The National Safety Council, NSC, reported that in 2022 injuries overall were $167 billion. This included productivity losses of $50B, medical at $37B and admin at $54B. There were more associated costs, but together this resulted in a loss of $38B for a single year. This is with OSHA regulations. If there’s easing on the OSHA compliance, will this number go up? Regardless of the answer, safety in the workplace affects a company’s revenue in other ways.

• Employee morale: Will they be more hesitant especially if a friend got hurt…
• Worker hesitancy: If they don’t believe they are safe, will they work as hard, or fast?
• Reputation of the Company: It may not get out to the general public, but workers will tell new workers that it’s unsafe. Thus, turnover rates can climb to that 50% churn rate that SIERA AI has reported numerous times.

Productivity Changes: Employees will not be as bought into the operations of the facility if they are hesitant, which in turn affects productivity… regardless of what goals you put on a worker.

Can OSHA Deregulations Affect Forklift Safety?

There is an OSHA regulation for ensuring the forklift is healthy before starting a shift. However, we all know how workers have gotten around that regulation: Pencil whipping. Safety professionals have tried numerous tactics to get this to happen, without 100% success. This affects maintenance as to they really don’t know when to service it, so maintenance does their best. Sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn’t. At the end of the day, it comes down to the individual company that is interested in safety, or how safety protocols can save them money and become more efficient.

No Forklift Accidents. What Does that Mean?

As AI technology comes more alive each day, more companies need to watch for the AI forklift safety system. If you want to reduce or maybe even eliminate these costs as stated above, let’s take a look at the benefits of an AI forklift safety system. This all meets and goes well beyond the OSHA compliance.

• Digital Forklift Inspection Checklist: This OSHA compliant checklist goes digital for proper analysis and tracking. Now maintenance professionals can better schedule maintenance programs keeping the forklift fleet healthy, thus extending their life of just 5 years.
• Forklift Access Control: Keep those who should be on the forklift on, and all others off. It will even take a picture of the person who is trying to access it without authorization or certification. The system will manage the expiration of the certifications, ensuring compliance.

Pedestrian and Object Detection: The AI camera is constantly watching every 60ms within a defined space, ensuring that nothing or no one comes within the distance. We can take that one step further, with slowing down the forklift if the forklift driver doesn’t comply with the warning.

What Happens Next?

With an AI based forklift safety system, you know where the high risk areas are at within the facility with the combination use of the GPS and heat map reports. In addition, you’ll have reports on the passes and fails, near misses, impacts and how many came within the predefined distance. This information keeps people away, thus reducing medical, keep objects including the facility away, reducing damages, and increasing the lifespan of the forklift beyond the traditional 5 years. All of this collectively means saved money and increased productivity.

OSHA Deregulations Affect Forklift Safety, but with SIERA AIs forklift safety system, you’ll find valuable ways to save and gain productivity. Contact us today.

Contact Us!

Contact us today at sales@siera.ai or call us at (512) 817 0702.