Judged by the number of little-changed, forklift-related accident statistics over recent years, safety issues still seem to be playing second fiddle to commercial necessity. Thousands of forklift and handling-related accidents are reported every year but the figures are deceptive because they are grossly under reported, especially among the self employed. So why do these figures remain persistently high, and what are truck manufacturers doing to improve matters?
Solutions fall into two main categories: hardware and good housekeeping, including facilities design. According to the Forklift Truck Safety Association, unsafe working practices account for 55% of accidents, of which 15% involve untrained drivers.
There is a tendency to blame even properly trained drivers as the main cause of unsafe practices but a closer examination of the figures shows that as much as 25% of the accidents are caused not solely by the driver but by controllable, environmental factors, often exacerbated by commercial pressures to meet delivery deadlines.
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A look at facilities design, for example, can lay bare some of the reasons why drivers are unfairly blamed for accidents. Lighting is a good example. A 60-year old forklift driver needs six times as much light as a 20-year old to discriminate objects in dim light and post 40-year olds are also more sensitive to glare. A forklift driver may have too little depth perception in a dim warehouse and so not see fellow employees in time to respond. Fitting forklifts with auxiliary lights could help here.
All warehouse operators should conduct a risk assessment that should include physical aspects like floor conditions, lighting, racking and damaged pallets. Current working practices should also be scrutinised. It is not generally good practice to have low level order pickers working in the same aisles as VNA or counterbalance trucks at the same time.
On the hardware side there has been much progress to improve safety. Truck stability has rightly come in for great attention because a tipping forklift is the most common cause of forklift fatalities. A good example of this is Toyota’s SAS (system of action stability) which, through four different sensors, protects drivers and loads by monitoring the forklift’s stability. But stability can also be affected by changing a truck’s ballast, like when switching to a lighter and therefore cheaper battery or fork mast or by changing to tyres that do not conform to the truck maker’s specifications. There are laws governing such changes but they are often ignored, hence emphasising the need for robust housekeeping practices.
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Another good example of designed-in safety features is the recently launched Caterpillar N series of reach trucks and order pickers. These incorporate slow down while turning, progressive steering, drive limitation and lift height pre-selector. Other safety devices include seat switch for detecting driver presence, dead man pedal, pin code access and obstacle detection system.
Accidents often occur when handling loads at heights over 6 mt. To reduce them, operators should consider the various aids for accurate load placement. These include pre-height selectors (the cheapest) TV monitors and laser guided systems. Such aids are less necessary when using articulated forklifts because these trucks give the driver an unimpeded view when interfacing the pallet load with the racking beams. Tilting and revolving cabs and seats can also improve ergonomics and so reduce the risk of accidents from fatigue.
Given the many advances in truck hardware safety issues, it is difficult to see what more truck producers could do to improve safety further. The pity is that such commendable attention has not been matched by similar attention to safe working practices.
Warehouse & Logistics News
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