5 Important Elements to Ensuring Forklift Safety

 

Forklift service providers offer repair and maintenance services for different types of forklifts. It remains important for operators to be trained to operate the trucks in a way that promotes longevity and safety. Accurate Forklift offers some of the best forklift service as well as forklift rental, forklift sales, and forklifts parts. In this blog, we share five important elements to ensure safety around the workplace. Read on.

1. Ensure Proper training of operators

Before an operator takes control of a forklift, they should be properly trained, certified, and governed by the Department of Labor and Industries. OSHA mandates all powered industrial forklift operators to have practical training and workplace evaluation. The training program includes classroom lectures and videos, safe lift truck operation, specialized training on particular trucks, and general safety requirements according to OSHA.

2. Perform forklift inspection

It is important to perform regular preventative inspections of each forklift before every job. A circle-check reduces the probability of operating a forklift under unsafe conditions. Inspection makes it easy to identify and deal with maintenance issues before they become more serious. If small issues are neglected, they will cause downtime, expensive repairs, equipment damage, and even accidents, injuries, and deaths. OSHA recommends all forklifts to be inspected daily or after every shift. The inspection points must include tires, brakes, lights, seat belts, filled level, horn, backup alarms, and moving and loading-support parts of the forklift.

3. Know the equipment and its rules

It is important to know your forklift and be more proactive with regards to how you operate it as this helps in avoiding accidents and equipment damage. This is why the National Safety Council's program includes a discussion on worker and bystander safety. Among the different things operators have to appreciate include the fact that a lift truck, being an open structure, is more prone to tipping over whether loaded or not, weight range, travelling speed limits, turning radius, and three-point suspension. The NSC also encourages drivers to wear seatbelts and to be aware of their surroundings at job sites.

4. Know about the stability triangle

Forklifts are built on a three-point suspension system which resembles a triangle, having support points at both ends of the front axle and the other located at the center of the rear axle. It is important to understand that the weight of an unloaded truck has equal concentration while the load has its own center of gravity. A loaded lift truck has a combined center of gravity between that of the load and the truck. The operator must understand the stability triangle and must stay within it when the forklift is moving. Factors such as unstable, raised, or heavy loads, fast starts or stops, and turning quickly can cause the truck to get off the stability triangle.

5. The final word

The above-listed elements are important to take note of as they help in promoting safety and reducing the risk of accidents. Accurate Forklift offers specialized forklift services and a huge inventory of well-maintained forklifts to ensure safety and smooth operations.  For more information about our forklift services such as preventative or routine maintenance and repairs or to discuss your requirements, simply call us at 770-692-1455 or email at service@accurateforklift.net and we will get back to you as soon as possible.