labor lawAdivision of labor law center

An Arkansas worker safety article recently released focuses on the risks posed by the improper operation of forklifts.

According to federal and state OSHA standards, certain considerations have to be taken into account when forming a training program for forklift operators.

Also, any forklift operator who is involved in an accident or “near miss” is required to undergo retraining. If an operator is seen to operate a forklift in an unsafe manner, he or she also has to undergo a period of retraining.

Other considerations that have to be taken into account are hazards in the workplace, the operator’s prior knowledge and skill, the type of forklift being operated and the operator’s demonstrated skill.

Forklifts are also called Powered Industrial Trucks (PITs) or fork trucks, and there are around 1.5 million workers who operate them in the course of their jobs.

They are on the whole, simple to operate, but there are some risks that operators and employers need to be aware of. The most common is that the vehicle may become unstable due to an imbalanced load.

Adding attachments can change the load bearing capacity of a forklift, and this needs to be taken into consideration. The maintenance plates and operation manual should be changed to reflect this, each time a modification takes place.

Some of the attachments that are used to modify forklifts are:

• Hoppers
• Rug Rams
• Drum Carriers
• Boom Extensions
• Drum rotators
• Drum grippers
• Cylinder caddies.

These attachments are common in the manufacturing industry.

If a load is well within the forklifts load bearing capacity, it can still cause the vehicle to become unstable if it is carried too far forward. It is also important that any attachment is counted towards the total load to be carried.

When moving a load, it should be kept as low as possible. Do not add extra weight to the rear of the forklift to compensate, as it has the effect of moving the truck’s center of gravity towards the rear axel, which is an unstable pivot point.

 

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