Items Tagged with 'Forklift safety'

Working on and around heavy equipment – including tractors, forklifts and bulldozers – can result in serious injuries and even death. One potential danger is falling from the equipment.

Forklift trucks are powerful equipment, and employees can be seriously injured if safe operating procedures are not followed.

Covering loads to protect them during transit can be a risky task for truckers. Fall injuries often can occur during this task, which the Washington State Department of Labor and Industries estimates costs Washington truckers on average at least two months in lost time.

According to OSHA, injuries on loading docks most often occur when forklifts run off docks, or when product or equipment falls off and strikes a workers.

Falls, struck-by incidents and overturned machinery are the most common causes of injury and death in forklift operations, according to NIOSH. Many of these deaths and injuries can be prevented by ensuring machine operators are trained and the work area is safe.