Forklift safety -- Australian style

Forklifts have killed 54 employees in Victoria, Australia since 1985 and injured many more. As a result, WorkSafe Victoria, the Victorian Work Cover Authority, has issued a detailed booklet on forklift safety that helps employers prevent forklift incidents through improved forklift traffic management.

The booklet provides details on every important forklift safety subject – from the risks of overturning and tipping, to speed and stopping distances, to getting on and off properly in order to prevent slips, trips and falls, to load carrying, to pedestrian risks.

There is information for operators (“when a forklift overturns, the safest place for the operator is in the cabin with a seatbelt on”) and employers (“An effective traffic management plan can use a range of devices, including pedestrian and forklift exclusion zones, safety barriers, containment fences and reduced speed limiting devices.”).

“These are the problems, but on a positive note, they are all fixable,” says Trevor Martin, director of WorkSafe’s transport and storage industry program. “And how to fix them is detailed in the Forklift Safety Pack.”

View it free online at
http://www.worksafe.vic.gov.au/dir090/vwa/publica.nsf/Site+Search/F27C2AF239DC19DDCA2570270011DAD5