It Only Takes One Forklift Accident…

Is forklift accident training high on your ‘to do’ list? Last week, we reported in our weekly mailer a forklift accident that resulted in the death of a 19-year-old man in Minnesota. As reported by CBS Minnesota, a pile of lumber fell from the racking system, crushing the young man on the forklift to death. Following the accident family members and others protested outside…then inside the Menards causing damage and making demands because the store did not shut down. Many were arrested with various charges ranging from third degree rioting, assault, criminal damages and more. The siblings of the deceased said that he was a new forklift driver and didn’t have enough forklift accident training.

What is Forklift Accident Training?

In terms of forklift accident training, there are strict guidelines set forth by OSHA for the operation of powered industrial trucks. OSHA states that every forklift operator be trained not only on the lift truck itself but also workplace topics as outlined in 1910.178(I)(3). The forklift operator must also be evaluated by a qualified trainer as per 1910.179(I)(2) and (iii). Finally, the forklift operator needs to be evaluated for his skills and performance at least once every three years per 1910.178.(I)(4)(iii).

How to Prevent Forklift Accidents?

Being SIERA.AI, the first recommendation is to get the S3 Pedestrian Detection System. The AI machine learning technology works to prevent forklift accidents by scanning for pedestrians and objects every 60ms. When it detects a pedestrian, it warns the operator with audio and visual alerts. The alert flashes a symbol of a person to notify the forklift operator that there is a human being in the defined warning path. When the S3 PDS detects an object, the forklift safety system warns the forklift operator with a flashing symbol of a box, indicating there is an object within its warning path.

Some other forklift accident preventative measures include:

• Wearing a seatbelt (part of SIERA.AI forklift access control. No seatbelt, no go)
• Take turns slowly to avoid tip-overs and rollovers
• Drive on a dry floor (be sure spills are cleaned up and any obstacles are out of the way)
• Stay within the defined weight load as recommended by the manufacturer
• Promote clear safety guidelines. Maybe even make a poster for the visual reminder.
• Stick to the speed limit set forth by your company
• Always perform the forklift safety inspection before using a forklift. (be sure to learn more about the S2 digital inspection with impact detection.)

Remember, forklift accidents are preventable. The forklift driver needs training and must be certified.

Each Forklift Driver is Different

Each forklift driver has varied skills. One driver may be great at a particular skill, but the next may need much more training. It’s critical to know the needs of each driver so targeted forklift training can be administered to benefit the driver. This can be done with the SIERA.AI Telemetry Dashboard where it tracks each driver’s safety score as well as other data points that can help determine their forklift accident training.

Summary

Forklift accident training is vital to the safety of your company. We encourage you to learn more about our forklift safety system as it will keep the driver and all others around safe.

Contact us today at sales@siera.ai