Top 3 Forklift Operator Safety Tips

Forklift operator safety is on everyone’s ‘to do’ list. If you receive our weekly news sent via email, you know that each week we report on forklift accidents with injuries and fatalities. Unfortunately, it does amount to at least one injury or fatality per week. If you’d like to be a part of our newsletter, email cherise@siera.ai to be added to the list. What are some ways that forklift operator safety can be managed to minimize forklift accidents? Let’s take a look at how forklift operator safety can reduce or at least minimize injuries and fatalities.

What is Forklift Operator Safety?

Forklift operator safety are safety precautions that a forklift operator can perform in order to keep the operator, pedestrians and objects, within distance of the forklift, safe from harm or damage. OSHA has developed a safety card or poster that helps to prevent hazards from occurring such as collisions, falls, tip-overs, and struck-by conditions.

Safety Tip #1: Be an Expert in Your Responsibilities

The best way to be an expert in forklift operator safety is with ongoing education and training. Now, this doesn’t necessarily mean repeating what you know over and over again, it means challenging yourself to high risk, difficult scenarios where and where forklift hazards can occur. For instance, driving close to the edge on a dock and turning corners in facilities that have narrow aisles. Becoming the expert will give the forklift operator the confidence and skills necessary for a safe environment.

Safety Tip #2: Forklift Safety System

A forklift safety system can certainly aid the driver with dangers in their surroundings. SIERA.AI uses AI machine learning technology to operate its forklift safety system. This technology was specifically chosen as its intelligence was keep the operator safe. For instance, if there is a person within the defined distance, the forklift operator will receive a visual and audio alert. The visual alert will be a symbol of a person. However, if there is an object within the defined distance, the forklift operator will also receive a visual and audio alert. However, the visual alert this time will be of a box, representing an object.

What if you have both? A person can be bending over behind a box, on all fours with only their feet showing, or an elbow sticking up as the worker is getting up off the floor. Is that being detected? Yes. The forklift safety system can perform partial human detection and notify the driver that a human is there. This is critical as it happens all the time.

Safety Tip #3: Inspect the Forklift Before Operating

One of the best ways to ensure the forklift isn’t going to malfunction and present harm during operation is to conduct a forklift safety inspection. The forklift safety system includes a digital forklift inspection where all information is asked and answered digitally. So if the OSHA auditor ever comes on-site to your facility, all you need to do is press 2 buttons, and the report comes out identifying forklift inspection passes and failures.

Everyone tries to ‘get around’ completing the forklift inspection. They quickly answer, or just draw lines down the boxes on the piece of paper clipped to a board. But what if the forklift won’t start because the forklift inspection wasn’t done. Is that of interest to you? What if the inspection fails or better yet the operator tries to use the accelerator without wearing the seatbelt. Would that help with your forklift safety plans?

Summary

SIERA.AI cares about forklift operator safety. Contact us today to begin your forklift safety plan with SIERA.AI, a machine learning solution that can identify what your operators and workers need to be safe on the job. Reduce accidents and injuries today by contacting us at sales@siera.ai.