Fork Lift Awareness

• OSHA estimates that there are 680,400 forklift accidents each year (1997)
  
• Approximately 90,000 employees suffer some type of injury
• losses affect employees
  
  
  • physical suffering
    
  • mental suffering

Benefits of forklifts

• Assist in the movement of materials
  
• Reduce employee lifting injuries

Forklift potential problems

• Pedestrians
  
• Blind spots
  
• Indoors/Outdoors
  
• Narrow aisles (and aisle intersections)
  
• Building columns
  
• Operate 24 hours per day
  
• Turning radius

Forklift and Pedestrians

• Pedestrians contribute to accidents
  
• Pedestrians do not understand stopping distances
  
• Pedestrians tried to “beat” a lift truck

Methods used to reduce Forklift Accidents

• Training of drivers
  
• Maintenance of equipment
  
• Areas of operation

Forklift Accidents

• Losses affect employers
  
  • damage to equipment
    
  • loss productivity

A breakdown of the 680,400 accidents:

• 90,000 employees injured
  
• 100 deaths

Source: Powered industrial truck accidents report through OSHA's "First report of serious accidents" 1985-1990


In percent what Causes Lift Truck Accidents?