Did you know that there are on average 35,000 serious injuries and 85 deaths each year as a result of poor safety whilst operating a Forklift Truck? This frightening statistic shows just how dangerous these 4,000kg machines are, especially when those operating do not have adequate training.
However, the majority of these accidents are preventable when both operators and supervisors become aware of the potential hazards and know what they can do to reduce the risks. This is where we come in! Below, are the top 4 major FLT hazards and what you can to do avoid them.
1. Forklift overturning
Overturning is the leading cause of serious fatalities and deaths when operating a forklift. In fact, overturning is responsible for 25% of accidents.
Turning or stopping too quickly, an unbalanced load, loads that are too heavy or high along with uneven and wet surfaces are all possible causes of a forklift overturning.
The best way to prevent these accidents is adequate training that includes; which surfaces trucks are designed for, at what point the truck becomes ‘overloaded’, speed limits, securing a load and more. However, if an accident does occur where the forklift overturns the operator should NEVER try to jump out of the vehicle and instead brace themselves against the back of the seat and hold on firmly.
2. Obstacles
Obstacles obstructing the operators view is a hazard that may seem obvious but way too many accidents happen as a result of an untidy warehouse. Some possible obstacles in a warehouse include; pallets, stocks, pipes, poles and barriers.
To significantly reduce the chances of an accident, operators and supervisors need to ensure they are checking for any obstacles that could impede the forklift before and whilst operating. Either by moving these potential obstructions or simply being aware of them, the chances that they will cause an accident, massively decreases.
3. Attachments
Attachments can be a hazard for several reasons as a change in maintenance, capacity and adjusting to different types of attachments can all cause potential hazards. The main hazard occurs when attachments are subject to poor maintenance. Stretched chains, worn out forks and other run-down areas all increase your risk of injuries.
To reduce the risks, the operator and supervisors should have a full understanding of the capacity limits and safety protocols on each individual attachment used. Also, before starting a job, the truck should be thoroughly checked to ensure everything is safe and not worn out.
4. Blind spots
A blind spot is when the operator cannot see past something that is blocking their view. Some common situations when this is likely to occur are; when weather conditions are poor, the lighting of the warehouse is insufficient or the forklift has a full load.
To reduce the risks, employees should direct pedestrians or other employees away from potential blind spots or, if possible, block off the whole area. If this cannot be done, drivers should have a ‘spotter’ when maneuvering around blind spots.
A dangerous hazard that could arise from blind spots is workers being struck or crushed. Having a traffic management plan where for example workers follow a one-way system or barriers are put in place is as good way to avoid this issue. In the instance that this does happen however, then immediately call 111.
Did you know that on average, 25% of workplace transport accidents are to do with lift trucks? Immediately, after seeing this statistic you would blame the operator, however one of the top causes of these accidents is down to poor/lack of supervision. “To reduce these accidents and comply with the law, those in these senior roles must be correctly trained too” states Laura Nelson, managing director of RTITB. www.rtitb.com
To help reduce these risks, our accredited training partner, RTITB have launched a new eLearning course for anyone who is ‘Managing or Supervising’ lift truck operators. The eLearning course, which can be accessed via mobile, PC, tablet or MAC includes sections on: Health and safety at work, Operational Experience and Qualification guidance, administrative responsibilities and much more. As an overview, the course is designed to enhance Manager and Supervisors understanding of material handling equipment operation whilst also expanding their knowledge.
By the end of the interactive training course, Managers and Supervisors will be able to promote safe working principles, challenge poor standards or issues, carry out effective observation, communicate effectively with operators and line managers. They will also feel confident in what their responsibilities are, as well as understand which parts of their role are required in order to comply with the industry legislation.
Here is why you should invest in the course:
It is a legal requirement under The Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 that managers and supervisors are adequately trained.
Minimise operations risk.
Ensure managers and supervisors are fully aware of their role and what it entails.
Simple and cost-effective way to ensure your team is armed with the necessary knowledge.
About Bob Hayward- The Managing Director and owner of Key Performance Training
Bob has had quite a journey from humble beginnings near Broad-water Farm in Tottenham (yes, he is a Spurs fan) failing his A levels and even the entrance exam for a Postman. Then a bad motor bike accident changed the course of his life forever. The six-week stay in hospital and the one year on crutches it took to recover led him to become a nurse. First a Registered General Nurse, then a spell in Intensive Care before taking a second-degree course in Psychiatric Nursing. After a 12-year career in nursing he took up selling and built a nursing agency from scratch to a 5.6 million turnover in five years. In his business career, Bob has started four businesses from scratch and built each of them to 1M turnover or more.
Bob actually hit the national headlines in 2001, but not for his business or consultancy skills, this was when he ran 33 marathons in only 40 days to get from Lands End to John O’groats in aid of a burns victim called ‘Podge’. He continues to raise money for charities close to his heart through marathon running and completed a further major test of endurance in October 2005 by running 6 marathons over 6 days across one of the hottest places in the world~ Death Valley~ this time in aid of Swindon food bank, tackling issues of poverty and deprivation.
How Key Performance Training started:
In 2017 Bob was involved in one of his many business ventures throughout his life; a recruitment firm recruiting pickers and packers for warehouses. He became aware that there was a huge demand for Forklift Truck Drivers in general but specifically in Swindon and the surrounding areas. As the business minded man he is, he decided to try and meet this demand by setting up a FLT training company to get as many people their license as possible and also to upskill pickers and packers.
The next stage? He needed to find a warehouse. After searching, he found a suitable location in Upper Stratton Headlands Unit trading estate where ‘Mr Shifter’ a local house moving and storage company were located and had enough room to rent out half of the warehouse for KPT. Bob and the 3 owners of Mr Shifter came to an agreement that they would all co-own the business and after months of finalisations on the 19th December 2017 Key Performance Training was born.
Although Bob had expertise and business knowledge behind him, he had no idea how to operate, let alone teach people how to operate Forklift Trucks. This was where the expert came in – David Gearon.
David had years of FLT training experience behind him from working as a trainer at Honda for 5 years, being a subcontractor for a company called Mentor for a further 2 years and then going on to turn around a company with a particularly bad reputation of their safety around FLT and getting them to do things the proper way. Whilst Bob was creating KPT, David was working in a job that he wasn’t enjoying and wanted to get back into training. By chance, as his contract was coming to an end, he saw advertised a job as a FLT trainer for a new company Key Performance Training and applied instantly. The recruiters knew how amazing David was at what he does and was surprised that he was out of training work. He was invited in for an interview at the warehouse which solidified that he would be the perfect man for the job.
Now , 4 years later and with Bob now as the sole owner and David as the head trainer. KPT is still surviving; even through a pandemic where nobody could be trained!
Cross- training employees can be a catalyst to a huge improvement in workforce productivity of any business. Here are the 5 main benefits of cross-training in the warehouse sector, however the advantages do not stop here, they are endless!
What does it mean to cross train an employee?
Cross-training is building the skills of your employees so that they can work in several different roles and carry out tasks even if they aren’t part of their main daily responsibilities. As a result, you, as the employer, can increase productivity in the workplace by making the maximum use out of the latent talents and skillsets of your employees.
For example, when summer is approaching and people are rushing into travel agents to book their last-minute holidays, if employees who usually handle telephone customer service enquiries are also trained to handle walk-in customers, then the travel agency will be more able to handle the increased demand.
Similarly, in the warehouse sector if someone in your team who usually works in production work could also operate forklift trucks you could move them temporarily to the loading team if there is a spike in demand. This prevents orders falling behind and increases the overall efficiency and effectiveness of your team.
Cross-training, specifically in the warehouse sector, is something that gets spoken about more than it is actually implemented. What is the main reason for that? Because people are simply unaware of the multitude of gain generated from this method. Hopefully after reading this blog post, you will be part of the percentage who are aware of the benefits, and will be tempted to use that knowledge to your advantage!
1. Great return on investment
The key to cross-training making a great return on investment is realising that the talent you are trying to outsource is most likely already within your business. Once you’ve had this realisation and act upon it, you are likely to see ways to boost to your bottom line.
2. Improved employee retention
A study conducted at the university of Warwick via Forbes found that on average, happy and engaged employees are 12% more productive than their unhappy counterparts. Cross-training has a significant effect on individual employee happiness because with a broader range of skills employees will feel as though they are being invested in and in return will become more engaged. Continuously focusing on the skillset of your existing employees rather than trying to recruit new employees with prior qualifications, will keep long term employees more committed to stick around.
3. Reduced impacts when employees are absent
This is a fairly straightforward benefit but often people do not realise the extent of a positive impact having cross-trained employees can have when absence occurs. For example, if your business has 10 employees and each of them have a total of 25 holidays per year that would be a total of 250 days a year where at least 1 person’s list of responsibilities are not getting completed. Does that sound efficient to you?
When your work-force is “cross-fit”, you will be able to substitute somebody from a less busy shift or a different sector who has the knowledge to cover for the absent employee. As a result, a significant increase to the number of responsbilities and tasks that are being completed will arise and the productiveness\output of the company will expand.
Ideally, even in a small company, you would have three people or more who could do any single job – even if only to ‘hold the fort’ professionally for a shift or a day. There is a direct link between the competency of your people and the confidence your customers have in you as a supplier.
4. Better employee collaboration
There are two types of employees. Those who have just expertise in one area (not cross-trained) and those who have expertise in one particular aspect but also still have a broad knowledge of other aspects in the company (cross-trained). When you are the non-cross trained type of employee you are hyper-focused to that one particular area and therefore find it difficult to collaborate with those in other sectors of your company.
Good collaboration is crucial within a company as it allows you and a team to solve problems together, speeding up the process of finishing a task and avoiding breakdowns in communication.
5. Makes your company more agile
The actual process of cross-training employees may reveal areas of strengths and weaknesses in employees. Throughout the on-the-job-training hidden talents and strengths may be revealed that means people would work better in another area or field of the business. You can then change people around accordingly. This makes your company more agile and responsive to change as-well as increasing flexibility when needing to fill last minute absences.
Being an agile company has a range of benefits such as more resilience, quicker decision making, more collaborative and also quick mobilization.
How Key Performance Training can help your business with cross-training
Key Performance Training based in Swindon and RTITB Approved, can unlock your potential with novice, refresher, experienced courses in Forklift Training, First Aid, Health and Safety and Fire Marshall Training, amongst others, at regular times throughout the year in a specifically designed training centre or on-site at your own location , amongst others, at regular times throughout the year in a specifically designed training centre or on-site at your own location if you prefer. From individual training to large scale corporate roll outs.
It’s important that all operators know the area they will be driving in well, as an unseen bump in the road can cause the vehicle to tip and result in, as well as damage to the vehicle.
Be aware of ramps, lumps, bumps, slippery ground and uneven surfaces
Avoid any loose materials, objects or flooring
Know the layout, the designated routes, the junctions, the narrow sections, low ceilings, the ways in and out of loading bays, any special racking, and all exclusion zones
Operators must be reminded of site rules, speed limits and safety guidelines frequently
High Quality Training
This is not just a sensible choice, but a legal obligation. As an employer you must ensure that their team are given all the training they need to safely and legally operate a forklift and keep themselves, their workmates and visitors to your site safe and protected from harm.
Operators who have received a training certificate, like that from the RTITB, and have been trained to operate each specific type of forklift should only be allowed to operate one.
Trained forklift operators will know how to do the job safely. They will have had to demonstrate that in a workplace or training arena evaluation by an accredited instructor.
Know the Common Forklift Hazards
Know the Stats. It’s important to know the dangers that come with using forklifts on loading docks and in warehouses. Keep these statistics in the forefront of everyone’s mind by discussing some of them in team meetings or daily huddles occasionally.
Remind operators of the most common hazards associated with forklifts.
Unsecured loads may fall, crushing pedestrians or drivers.
Forklifts may tip over, due to excessive speed, tight cornering or imbalanced loads
Workers may fall if they stand on the forks
Drivers may not see pedestrians, leading to collisions and fatal accidents
Improper or missing floor marking may lead to accidents between forklifts and pedestrians
Stay Safe While Using A Forklift
Workers should do the following while behind the wheel to protect themselves and co-workers:
Make sure the load is balanced and fully secure to prevent a forklift from tipping over
Ensure both forks are as far under the load as possible before lifting
Check for any overhead obstacles before stacking upwards
Use ropes, straps and bindings to properly secure loads
Do not overload the forklift
Do not push a load with the forks
Never exceed the maximum capacity of your forklift or attachments
Always check the load carefully before moving off
Drive with the load as low as safely possible
Pay attention to posted speed limits and warning signs
Always look in the direction you’re traveling; if a load blocks the view ahead, travel in reverse
Steer clear of areas where forklifts are prohibited or restricted
Keep an eye out for signs, floor marking, and other warnings for pedestrians and forklifts
Use the horn at intersections and in areas where pedestrians may be present
Facilities of any size should have clear forklift safety rules
Provide high-viz workwear and the proper PPE for all staff entering the warehouse and wherever forklifts operate
These are just a few tips that will help you keep your workforce safe and ensure you get the most from your equipment.
For further information about high quality training – please contact us on 01793 975 353
The theme
for the 2020 International Women’s Day campaign is #EachforEqual. An equal
world is an enabled world.
How to enter the competition
Take a photograph or selfie in front of a forklift truck with your arms in the position shown and add it to your social media account. This can be on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter or LinkedIn. Remember to use ALL THREE hashtags #IWD2020 #EachforEqual #KPT and tag the relevant Key Performance Training Account on that platform, or that of David Gearon or Bob Hayward.
How the winner will be decided:
The winner will be the person whose social media post gets the most likes and shares. The photograph must be of the person who owns that social media account, they must have their arms in the position demonstrated, the post must contain all three hashtags and tag Key Performance or one of the two owners.
Why are
we doing this?
At Key Performance Training, we are choosing to challenge stereotypes, broaden perceptions, and seek to be a pathway to better equal employment opportunities.
In the last two years, only five of the 80 delegates who have become qualified forklift operators through Key Performance Training were ladies. There is no reason for forklift operating to be the preserve of our male colleagues. There is no reason that anyone, male or female, must be big, strong or bulky to operate a forklift. The fact is that Forklift Trucks are just as suitable for men and women to drive as are cars.
A career as
a Forklift driver is an underrated profession and often overlooked by women who
may not recognise the high demand for Forklift operators. Anyone over 16 can
drive forklift truck and earnings are above average for warehouse and logistic
roles. Forklift driving can be a great pathway into better employment for
everyone #EachforEqual
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