Month: January 2016

Somedays the workplace is incredibility hectic, and as productive members of that work place we are expected to manage our day and tasks, safely.  And this especially rings true during rigging tasks and the associated lifting that subsequently follows.  Just one wrong calculation from a distracted employee forgetting about their rigging safety training and proper procedures can mean the difference between a tragic accident and a productive workday.

Many hoist and crane related injuries and accidents can be prevented by simply ensuring all users are properly trained on the correct operation of chains, slings and hoists as well as the proper inspection and maintenance policies.  The costs associated with safety training are minute when compared to the $27,000 average cost per lost time accident, an estimate developed by the

Continue Reading »

While employers in the United States are required, to provide a safe workplace and training on those safety procedures, we are seeing fork lift safety training being perceived more and more as a burden to employers vs. a way to protect the safety of employees, increase moral of employees and safeguard their bottom-line.

Effective training on safety procedures, regardless of their origins, (be it chemicals, material handling equipment or lock-out-tag-out) allow workers to not just understand the hazards, but also empowers them with the information of how to avoid and protect against those hazards.  Unfortunately, today, these procedures and training are often overlooked.

$39,000…that, my friends is the average cost in medical expenses and lost productivity per non-fatal workplace injury, according to the National

Continue Reading »

Accidents involving lift trucks don’t always look the same.  Forklifts can collide with dock doors, pedestrians, racking, other lifts and product stacks/pallets creating different levels of damage and unfortunately, injuries in workplace accidents.

Research conducted by a variety of sources, including OSHA and the BLS, has pointed to a number of factors that are leading to these types of incidents.  Some of those factors include the distance of travel, the direction of travel (forward or backward), the awareness levels of drivers and pedestrians and the working conditions of the lifts.  Diving into more detail, we are finding the following accident causes to be the most prevalent:

Noise levels Light levels Number of trucks in a facility Layout of a facility (workplace layout) Level

Continue Reading »