Fully agree with you and its the same all over, company's do nothing then play dumb when an accident happens, its only then government safety people show any intrest. Should be more pro-active with enforcement

The enforcers are the guilty party. You can have all the training , rules & regulation you want. But if no one enforces them then things ain't going to change. Kinda' like a cop seeing someone doing 80 in a 25 MPH zone and ignoring it, pretty soon everyone is doing 80 because tbe enforcers don't care. Come to Atlanta you'll see what I mean.

I don't believe regulations and more rules are the answer.

Just a little safety training and common sense will do more.
Companies don' seem to want to do this, and alot of them have good safety standards, that are never enforced, even after someone gets hurt.

Go figure

There are a number of solutions available but the problem is the companies are not will to take a proactive approach to safety, I own a company that provides many wireless solutions to prevent so many of the accidents we read about, but once again no mandate just awww crap our WCB rates are going to increase!! after the fact. www.seaportsolution.com

California is an OSHA State Plan State and Cal/OSHA has the following specific regulation in force as of March 19, 2009:

California Occupational Safety and Health Standards
Title 8, Chapter 4
General Industry Safety Orders
Division 1, Chapter 4, Subchapter 7, Article 7
Section 3650. Industrial Trucks. General.

"(33) When provided by the industrial truck manufacturer, an operator restraint system such as a seat belt shall be used."

Various restraint devices can be used.

ANSI/ITSDF B56.1-2005 (Reaffirmation of ASME B56.1-2004), Safety Standard for Low Lift and High Lift Trucks:

7.41 Operator Restraint Systems

"Counterbalanced, center control, high lift trucks that have a sit-down, non-elevating operator position shall have a restraint device, system, or enclosure that is intended to assist the operator in reducing the risk of entrapment of the operator 's head and/or torso between the truck and ground in the event of a tip-over. Such means shall not unduly restrict the operation of the truck, e.g. ,the operator 's mounting, dismounting, movement, and/or visibility."

the US standards ("ANSI or other type rules on this") are available on-line to anyone who agrees to not resale the information. it is at "itsdf.org".
ITSDF= Industrial Truck Standards Development Foundation. ITSDF has taken over from ASME (American Society of Mechanical Engineers) the maintenance and updating of the b56 standard, which is incorporated by reference in the ANSI standards.

As I recall it was a long time before you started seeing seatbelts on forks.
Does anyone know if different companies use different systems to keep operators in the compartment such as Raymond (operator compartment system) or Crown (entry bar)? Or if there are any ISO or ANSI or other type rules on this, or if there are any countries outside US that require a sitdown with a seatbelt or jack on the loading dock where there are a lot of fatalities?

We have a working proximity detection system already on the market that could help with many forklift collision accidents. It was originally developed for similar accident situations in underground mining and is based on the same architecture.

During our research for developing the forklift system, I was amazed at how many accidents occur. Working around them everyday, I think many of us take a soft safety approach towards them, and really have no idea how badly they can hurt you. They don't seem as threatening as larger industrial equipment but are in many ways much more dangerous given their relative speed and agility.

Sorry Guys.

I really don't have any reliable Info at present.

Just struck me that it was sad in todays enviornment that someone gets killed a couple of hours into a new job.

There is this company in Southern BC that has a collision Avoidance System for Mobile equipment, The workers are outfitted with a tag in a vest or.. The tag then broadcasts a signal to the vehicle in the workplace, and this provides 360 degree protection to the worker. The vest can warn the worker and the machine operator of the presence of a vehicle within the safety zone with an audible tone and or/ vibration. This would be a wonderful tool for the drivers and pedestrians that work around mobile equipment. The System would work in conjuction with the other safety systems on the work site. They are still in prototype stage but it should hit the market within the next year.
psted by: Cindy

Normandy:

Is this the incident at the Recresco glass-recycling plant at Ellesmere Port in Cheshire? If so, do you have any additional information? The reports on this side of the pond are very limited?

The 25 year old man was supposedly working through a local agency (job temp). It was his first day on the job. He was crushed by a forklift that overturned. The reports do not state if he was operating the forklift or working alongside the forklift.

The Cheshire Constabulary and the Health Safety Executive (HSE) are reportedly still investigating.

Lack of proper safety training will most likely factor into the causation.

Until the occupational health and safety governmental enforcement agencies throughout the world take forklift training for operators, managers/supervisors, and pedestrians seriously, similar incidents will continue to occur.

Just read that story, it is sad, but it comes down to companies responsibility to make sure that employees are safe, and proper risk assessments are gathered to prevent these accidents happening.
People just dont seem to understand that 6ft of bone and flesh isnt going to stop a couple of tonnes of steel without serious or fatal injuries. We talk alot about irresponsible drivers but we also have to focus on pedestrians also. Pedestrians cant rely on the driver seeing them all the time.
I once did a job at a parts warehouse and was told quite abrasively, if you enter into the path of a forklift or stock runner, everyone downs tools until you leave the warehouse. these drivers were just sick and tired of people of "wandering" off the walkways into paths of equipment.
the positive in this case is the company will now probably review its safety policies and procedures, but it comes at a cost of a life.