Page 117 - Alex Ruscuklic - Complete Works

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FORKLIFT SAFETY – the right tools & conditions for the job
By Roger Parry-Jones – WorkSafe Victoria Inspector (Manufacturing, Logistics and Agriculture) Forklifts: boon or gloom for business – it’s up to you!
Forklifts were relatively uncommon 40 years ago. Today they are commonplace and essential operational equipment in industries ranging from manufacturing, construction, warehousing and logistics to airports and the waterfront, even newsagents and bottle shops.
It is estimated that more than 330,000 forklifts are in use throughout Australia today. These modern machines have effectively shifted the load from the labourer’s back, performing work far more quickly, more reliably and more conveniently than was possible 40 years ago. But they are potentially among the most dangerous pieces of equipment around and can present a real engineering challenge in terms of risk control management and the prevention of manual handling injuries.
Between 2000 and 2005, more than 500 safety compromised incidents involving forklifts were reported to WorkSafe Victoria, representing only perhaps 10% of the total number of reportable forklift incidents requiring notification under Victorian workplace safety laws.
Victorian OHS legislation requires employers to report any incidents that expose a person to risk of injury – even when no one was actually hurt!
Such incidents have been largely responsible for the 56 forklift related deaths in Victorian workplaces over the past 23 years (please refer to chart on page 14). Half of these fatalities were pedestrians. Every single one was avoidable! For every death there are hundreds of injuries (often permanent) resulting in workplace injury insurance claims, family and workmate trauma and potential prosecutions. The commercial costs run into the tens of millions of dollars.
People are often devastated after “something went wrong” – they can’t believe it. Inspectors are frequently told: “Nothing like this has happened before!” “We’re big on safety!” or that the operator was “always so careful”; but on examination, the causes and means of preventing deaths and injuries are usually clear.
For starters, many forklifts seen by workplace safety inspectors date way back to the1970s and ’80s – often in poor condition with chains, hydraulic rams and tines worn to a point well below the manufacturer’s specifications. Safety equipment is often broken and load charts unreadable or poorly understood.
Assumptions about the safety of forklifts, a reliance on the skill and experience of the operator, and the mistaken belief that safety is merely a matter of ‘common sense’ can all lead to complacency.
So-called ‘near miss’ incidents are clear opportunities for safety improvements to be made – often at little or no cost or simply by ensuring that procedures are established and carefully followed. If there is no system for investigating and implementing safety action plans, the next incident could result in a death.
Driving safety – the forklift operator
The skill and responsibilities required of a professional forklift operator deserve our appreciation – without a doubt – however forklifts can easily become ‘lethal weapons’ in the hands of poorly trained or inexperienced operators.
The knowledge, expertise and discipline required of the average forklift operator to perform his/her tasks are often not readily recognised, but they also have very real responsibilities to follow the safe work instructions provided by their employers.
It is worth noting that it isn’t enough for an employer to simply check whether a forklift operator has a Certificate of Competency and thus assume that the operator is responsible for safety. Operator competency should be assessed with the particular plant and attachments supplied and within the designated workplace – so that they clearly understand the specific hazards they may be exposed to.
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