How To Avoid A Forklift Accident
A farm in Gippsland has been convicted and fined $80,000 after a contactor was struck by a forklift. It’s a long list of employers failing to train employees to operate a forklift safely which can avoid a forklift accident.
Recently a business was fined and jailed for six months after a fatal forklift accident.
The company owner was operating a forklift to lift a metal bin which the worker was standing in. When the metal bin was raised in the air, the worker fell through the corroded base of the bin before the bin itself fell from the forklift tines on top of the worker.
The company owner did not, and had never, held a forklift licence and the bin itself had not been properly secured to the forklift. More details
A Forklift Accident In The Workplace Is Avoidable
Covino Farms Pty Ltd pleaded guilty in the Sale Magistrates’ Court on Friday to failing to ensure, as far as reasonably practicable, that the workplace was without risks to health and safety.
The company was also ordered to pay $4573 in costs.The court heard that in December 2016, the 50-year-old contactor was walking along a corridor at the company’s Longford site when she was struck from behind by a forklift carrying crates of lettuce. The contactor was required to use the same corridor as forklifts to access a nearby room. She was treated for a dislocated shoulder, fractured pelvis, bruising and scarring, and has been unable to continue working in her role.
Covino Farms has since painted crossings and provided pedestrians with an alternative walkway to separate them from forklifts.
WorkSafe Executive Director of Health and Safety Julie Nielsen said it was unacceptable for workplaces to ignore the extreme dangers moving machinery such as forklifts can pose to pedestrians.
“Forklifts and pedestrian workers should be able to safely co-exist where reasonably practicable control measures are in place, however when they are not the consequences are often severe,” she said.
“A traffic management plan, which includes the physical separation of forklifts and people is essential and in this case, would have avoided a worker receiving debilitating injuries.
“Like all workers, contactors have every right to return home safely at the end of the day, so employers must ensure they are provided with a safe working environment.”
Covino Farms has previously been fined $15,000, after an employee stepped into an open drain base, and $70,000 after an employee was run over by a spinach seeder. Both incidents occurred in 2015.
Employers Can Avoid A Forklift Accident
Here’s what they need to do:
- All workers receive appropriate induction and training on the work they are to be involved in, and that a register of training and induction is maintained on file.
- A traffic management plan is in place for pedestrians and powered mobile plant and that it is reviewed and updated as appropriate.
- Pedestrians are separated from moving machinery and that an effective communication system between operators, transport contactors and ground staff is in place.
- Signage is in place and barriers are erected where appropriate.
- Identify and control visibility issues, particularly if lighting is poor.
- Workers operating equipment where a High Risk License is required, such as a forklift, hold a current license.
Get Your Qualifications To Operate A Forklift Safely
Safety comes first. When working in a warehouse or on a jobsite, your work colleagues need to know what you’re able to operate your forklift safely all times. For that reason choose COVE Training we are your best bet. Our comprehensive, responsible and affordable programs will make sure you’re both competent and certified to operate a forklift, which reduces the risk of a forklift accident occurring.
Call 03 8773 9000 for more information. (RTO) No. 21386