How to Optimize Safety When it Comes to Forklifts

For 14 years, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has required that every forklift in operation be inspected for optimum safety. Anyone who operates a forklift must have suitable training for that specific type of lift. This could seem a bit excessive due to the constant rotation of employees and machinery, but take a moment to consider the possible costs. There are over 90,000 forklift related injuries every year in the United States. How many of these accidents do you believe could have been avoided with proper training and inspected equipment? Not only that, but how much is wasted every year on damaged forklifts and lost product?

For a company to optimize safety, it must take into consideration these points:

1. Those who operate machinery must have proper training.
2. Forklifts must be inspected regularly to ensure optimum safety.
3. Workspace must be clean and organized.
4. Damaged equipment must be red flagged until deemed safe.
5. Unsafe operators must be confronted.
6. Management must keep track of equipment use.

Some forklift dealers offer training courses designed to keep your employees operating safely and in on-site training, train-the-trainer programs, video training, and operator permits.
accordance with OSHA requirements. Shoppa's Mid America offers its customers

Keeping track of the condition of forklifts can be difficult, especially for those who do not service their own equipment. Shoppa's Mid America offers our customers a full maintenance package with every lift. With this service, dispatched technicians come to the customer and inspect the lift quarterly. Having a regular checkup such as this allows you the peace of mind that you are operating under the OSHA safety requirements.

It is common for managers to overlook parts and maintenance costs by considering them to be an unavoidable expense. More times than not, certain trends can be found in maintenance, such as abusive operation. A good way to keep track of this is to assign employees to specific lift trucks. Even a step further would be to install impact monitors, which can detect a collision and deactivate the forklift until a manager deems it safe to operate.

The safety of a facility is based on consistent maintenance, reliable work force, and advanced technology. It rests on management to keep track of these factors and address them accordingly. Forklifts are valuable assets to any company; knowing for a fact they are being operated correctly is essential.

For more information on the safety training programs offered by Shoppa's Mid America, please visit our website.