Material handling hazards

Employees who were struck and crushed by a stack of crates that toppled over during a forklift operation were involved in a material handling accident that could have been avoided.

David Hoover, president of Forklift Training Systems, says material handling hazards should be corrected before forklift training starts and the training should reinforce the changes.

The following material handling hazards endanger forklift operators and should be corrected:

* Poor floor or lot conditions
* Loads beyond the rated capacity of the forklift
* Missing or non-functioning safety devices, such as horns, seatbelts, alarms and strobes
* Poorly stacked or stored loads and structurally damaged storage racks
* Damaged or broken pallets
* Lack of proper pre-shift checks and preventative maintenance
* Lack of enforcement of any type of safety issues