Reclassifying Marijuana a Smart Idea for Forklift Operators

A recent article in Safety and Health magazine reported on how the Department of Justice and the Drug Enforcement Administration are looking to ‘reschedule’ marijuana from a Schedule I to a Schedule III. Forklift safety and marijuana seems like oil and water, but according to the Federal government, maybe not. Let’s look into this further.

Forklift Safety and Marijuana

Marijuana, according to the Federal government is still illegal and each state has the ability with its citizens to either legalize it or not. There are three schedules. Schedule I includes drugs such as LSD and heroine and Schedule II includes substances such as meth and fentanyl. Schedule III include drugs such as ketamine and steroids. If you recall in recent news, Matthew Perry died from drowning with high doses of ketamine in his system. This is where they want to reclassify marijuana, Schedule III.

The NTSB and the American Trucking Association has expressed concerns about the change stating pilots, airline mechanics, bus and truck drivers could compromise safety of themselves and the people who rely on their expertise. What do you think?

What is Schedule III

Schedule III basically means that there is a lower opportunity for abuse and a moderate to low potential of being physically dependent or addicted. Is that true for all? Or is that true for some? If marijuana moves to Schedule III, what would that mean for forklift safety and marijuana occurring at the same time? Not meaning that they are smoking or ingesting an edible on the job, but what if it is consumed on their lunch break? Are you concerned what that would mean for the other workers? Or if the worker was enjoying a ‘snack’ at lunch, is the risk greater for the forklift operator?

Forklift Safety System Meets Forklift Safety and Marijuana

As the topic gets discussed at the government level with the concerned associations, this is where automation can come into play to help save those from harm. Here are a few suggestions that can be done to prepare for a Schedule change on forklift safety and marijuana.

• AI forklift safety system has a digital checklist. Place a question within the checklist about forklift safety and marijuana. Now, turn the toggle in the back of the Dashboard to ‘on’. This will randomize the questions so the operators will not know when and where that question comes up. A recently released added benefit in the telemetry Dashboard is the ability to measure how long it took to answer a question. You will be able to measure and compare how long it takes to answer questions. This can help you to determine reaction times, which is critical when driving a forklift.
• AI S3 pedestrian detection system has two capabilities that can be of service to the safety in the facility.
  • When a person or object comes within the pre-defined distance, an audio warning sounds and a visual occurs at the same time. The S3 has a digital screen that will show a symbol flashing. If the AI based forklift safety system show a symbol or picture of a person, or a picture or symbol of a box, this helps the operator know what it is and take immediate action for an incident doesn’t occur.
  • However, if the forklift operator does not adhere to the warning, and the warning continues to occur as the forklift operator gets closer to the human or object, the S3 with AutoSlowdown will automatically take over from the operator and begin to slow the machine down on its own. This is to ensure a forklift accident does not occur.

Training

As the new forklift safety system gets installed (average time 45 min per lift truck), not only does the forklift operator get trained, but so does the worker. It is critical for them to understand the technology as it is the operator. It will provide them both with the knowledge, understanding of the technology and take care in the safety of the environment. Share the findings with them so they have a greater understanding of what a safety professional goes through and why they make the suggestions they do.

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