Forklift Safety Tips For Pedestrians

by Mister Mechanic Looking For Forklift Rentals?

Workplace safety is one of the most essential aspects of the industrial world. When it comes to warehouses and storage facilities where forklifts are regularly used, there you need to be extra active for the safety of everyone. In bigger facilities where the number of workers and forklifts are more, work with dedication for the productivity. Thus, the safety of the workers and pedestrians become really very necessary here. The operators need to be properly trained about the safety precautions while pedestrians even need to be taught how to stay safe in such environment always.

With good instructions and safety procedures in place, the majority of these accidents can be avoided. So here we are going to have a look at top ways to maintain a safe environment for pedestrians.

1) Training to both pedestrian and operators

Training is one of the simplest yet most powerful ways to avoid any kind of accidents to both operators and pedestrians like order pickers, managers, vendors, etc. Mostly the focus is kept on the training to operators according to the OSHA's guidelines while pedestrian training is mostly overlooked. Safety is really essential as it keeps the employees perfectly fine, saves lot of money and the working of company goes on smooth.

To make this process easier you can even make safety training a part of the recruitment process. The operators need to be trained to safely operate the forklift without causing any problems to the pedestrians walking around. The pedestrians also need to be trained as to how you need to stay safe while working around a forklift and also how can they react in situations where accident might have occurred. Knowledge about the measures and safety mechanisms in workplace are the key to overall facility safety.

2) Increase visibility for drivers and people on foot

Poor visibility is the ultimate cause of most of forklift accidents. If the cross-visibility of the forklift operators and pedestrians can be made clear then many accidents can be easily avoided. So the focus should be on making the visibility better and accidents would surely occur lesser. Use of high-visibility vest can be one of the most cost efficient and effective ways to ensure safety.

Adding extra lights to forklifts that can be easily visible to the pedestrians can also ensure better safety. Various equipments that can easily make pedestrians aware about a forklift coming are blue safety lights attached to the front and rear of the machine, side zone lights, safety sensors and mirrors etc.

3) Use Noticeable Pedestrian Tracks & Crossings

In case of the big warehouses or storage facilities, separate dedicated tracks are provided for pedestrians and forklifts. This helps in ensuring better security as both are on different paths. When the forklifts needs to be turned or it has to walk past a crosswalk, driver slows down and stays more aware about the pedestrians. Use of other methods like protective islands, metal guards and automated control gates, increase forklift safety as well.

Everyone should be properly trained on usage of their dedicated lanes on a regular basis. Use of railing across the lanes ensure a safer environment as crossing each other becomes difficult and the clarity about dedicated path stays better.

4) Mirrors & Safety Sensors

Encourage drivers to approach intersections with extreme caution and at slow speeds and use their horns. Pedestrians should heighten their awareness when walking around these areas.

Corners where visibility is hindered are typically the reason for most of the forklift accidents. Various things that can cause this visibility hindrance around corners are high storage racks, sharp corners, stacked pallets, dock bays with parked trucks, heavy machinery etc. Because of this the forklift truck drivers and pedestrians mostly cannot see each other, causing an accident. Thus use of mirrors, motion sensors, or forklift activated warning lights can help in ensuring better safety at workplace. When reaching such sharp corners, the speed must be slowed down to prevent a mishap.

5) Warehouse Audit For Complete Safety

It is never always about the driver and the pedestrian safe measures as accidents can even occur due to some flaws in your warehouse. So it is always advisable to get a full warehouse audit to check if it is a healthy, hygienic and harmless facility. Remove and fix all the aspects that can lead to any kind of accident. Proper lighting and clutter-free facility works best for forklift operations.

Thus, these were the top forklift safety tips to ensure a safe environment for pedestrians. These tips can help you in maintaining a smooth & flawless work environment.

Source of information: TCM Forklifts manufacturers and Forklifts Dealers Burlington experts