6 Essential Safety Tips for Handling Warehouse Forklifts

In warehouse environments, it’s crucial that managers do everything they can to ensure the safety of employees and visitors. It’s easy for accidents to happen if the proper precautions haven’t been taken and health and safety legislation is ignored.

When it comes to forklifts, poor health and safety practices can lead to fatalities, so make sure you bear in mind these six important tips.

 

Keep areas clear

Narrow aisles, cluttered spaces and poor lighting can all make a forklift operator’s job more difficult and cause accidents. You need to ensure spaces are kept clear at all times, with goods stored in appropriate places – ideally on clearly marked shelves – and bright lighting.

Use the correct attachments

Before any job is undertaken, the operator should check that the correct attachments are being used. If the wrong attachments are used, for example, they’re for a different forklift model or not appropriate for the job at hand, it could be dangerous.

Honour load capacity

Honouring a machine’s load capacity will keep the vehicle in good condition and keep people in the warehouse safe. A study in the US found that 42% of forklift fatalities occur when the machine is overloaded and it tips over, crushing the operator or another person. This means it’s essential that loads are under the maximum weight for a particular forklift and are distributed evenly.

Make sure the load is properly secured

A loose load is liable to collapse and fall when it is transported. Encourage your forklift operators to check and test that the load is secure before moving it.

Provide appropriate training

The safety of your employees and visitors relies on sufficient training. You need to provide all employees who use forklifts with regular, comprehensive training on how to use the models you have and all the safety steps they need to take. You also need to make sure all staff are trained in fire safety and that you have an appropriately trained first aider.

Do regular maintenance

Machine safety relies on the machinery being in good condition, so regular maintenance should be undertaken and recorded. Your staff should also report to you immediately if they hear a forklift making any strange noises or emitting unusual smells.

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