See new thread for SAS comments, so we don't highjack this one's original intent.

I would like to know if rollovers caused by turning on ramps, running off a dock etc are included in the numbers. If so SAS or any other system is not going to do a thing. Any of have any data on how rollover was caused?

Any idea what percentage of the total lift trucks in the current US fleets were actually Toyota's equipped with SAS? I know some trucks are 20 years old, so the number of Toyota's with SAS may be quite small, as compared to the total number of trucks in service. I'm not saying the system isn't beneficial, but just a caution to consider all variables when reading the stats.

According to the U.S. Department of Labor, 118 fatalities resulted from the overturn of a lift truck between the years 1999 and 2003 and none of them were a Toyota equipped with SAS (System of Active Stability).

Chris,

I am an attorney actively engaged in the defense of forklift manufacturers, distributors and dealers. I routinely deal with the issues presented and I have defended a number of industry leaders in numerous serious personal injury matters where product defect is alleged as a proximate cause of the accident and injury. As you undoubtedly know, forklift operator training is mandatory in the USA (OSHA Sec. 1910.178). Notwithstandng this, many employees actively disregard their training and, candidly, some employers are lax in enforcement of OSHA requirements and safe workplace practices. Most recently, I obtained a unanimous defense verdict on behalf of TCM and its distributor and dealer where a man suffered a near traumatic amputation of his leg because he did not, I proved, engage the park brake. There was nothing wrong with the lift truck; simply, he did not follow his training and good and accepted practice.

Would you be so kind as to send me the same brochure?


My emails is listed in my profile.

Regards

Actually, According to the U.S. Department of Labor, there have been 118 fatalities from the overturn of lift trucks from 1999 to 2003, averaging 23 deaths per year. None of these fatalites involved Toyota lift trucks equipped with SAS.

And I would say that Toyota represents 30% of all forklift sold.

If 23 deaths a year happen because of forklift overturn, and Toyota has never had a fatality with an overturn with a truck equipped with SAS, then that must mean the SAS is doing it's job. It's ACTIVE STABILITY and not PASSIVE STABILITY like everyother manufacturer is turning out.

To The Toyota Guy -

Last time I checked OSHA records which stated 80%+ of all reported accidents involving an industrial fork lift involve the feet or legs.

The SAS system certain has it's merits. Toyota represents less than 70% of all trucks sold.

Certainly any one death is one too many, but the OSHA report I read stated that less than 100 deaths/annum involved an industrial lift truck.

1.Country = New Zealand
2.Yes laws and Regulations For Required Training

3.(Code of Practice for Opertators and Instructors of Powered Industrial Lift Trucks) Safety Codes also.
All Issued by: Dept of Labour - (was called O.S.H)

4.Wearing of Seat belts not Law YET - However Stronlgey Recommended.

5. No

6.Yes Operators required to be certified and Authorised.
(Attended training course's etc.

7.Refresher Training / Certification every 3 years!

8.No to all!

(Hope you find this of some help)
Publications for in NZ re training of operators can be found under the Dept of Labour web Site.
Forklift "safety Codes" and Code of Practice's

Hey... Charlie's post about the UK includes a common misconception. There is NO compulsory licensing for FLT operators here.

(Having said that, the rules and guidance we do have is quite complicated. The Fork Lift Truck Association website http://www.fork-truck.org.uk/ has a whole bunch of fact sheets which answer this kind of thing - it's pretty much an FAQ about UK laws and best practice regarding FLT. Worth a look!!)

Hope that helps.

John:
I appreciate the detail in your reply.
Thanks
Chris

Thanks Joe. As always you have been very helpful. -Chris

Thanks Charlie. This is very helpful.

Hi all.
1. Your country name AUSTRALIA
2. Does your country have laws and regulations regarding safe lift truck operation? Yes
3. What is the name/number of the law or reg? AUSTRALIAN STANDARDS, ISO STANDARDS, STATE WORK SAFETY REQUIREMENTS
4. Does your country mandate the use of a seat belt for lift truck operators? Yes IF SEATBELT IS FITTED. ADDITIONALLY VICTORIAN WORK SAFETY ORGANISATION IS FORCING RETROFITTING OF SEAT BELTS
5. Does your country require licensing of LT operators. (e.g. You go to a gov't office to obtain it.) Yes IF POWERED. STATE GOVERNMENT ADMINISTERED BUT TESTING PRIVATE
6. IF NO for number 5. Does your country require training and qualification of lift truck operators? Yes or No
7. Is recertification required at some frequency? NOT MANDATORY BUT SAFETY AWARE COMPANIES ASSIST ON REFRESHER TRAINING - SOME ON AN ANNUAL BASIS
8. Does your country require testing for LT operators?
a. Medical testing (fit for duty) No
b. Drug/alcohol testing NO - SOME COMPANIES/ SITES INSIST ON SUCH TESTING ON A RANDOM BASIS FOR ALL WORKERS

Cannot leave it there without making the following comments though:

In spite of licencing with basic requirements including checking the load and checking the load plate before lifting the load, in refresher training hardly any operators can tell us the rating of their forklift OR the maximum load they lift. In addition most intermediate / in process goods have no weight information on them so operator has no idea. Very few understand rated distance is both a horizontal and vertical distance. As a result in most sites I inspect forklift trucks are being overloaded

In spite of mandatory seat belt laws, very few sites achieve 100% compliance with many having very low compliance. Sites with 100% compliance tend to have an expectation that everyone on site from CEO down stops and forklift driver who is not wearing a seatbelt and instructs them to put it on, AND that they report the incident, AND multiple transgressions will lead to employment being terminated.

In regard to Toyotas fitted with SAS (and not TOYOTA three wheel counterbalance forklifts) I also comment. The SAS system is good but cannot eliminate fatalities.

I investigate fatalities with forklifts for our work safety organisation. The SAS system would not have prevented a collision then rollover (mast blind spot on a modern open mast resulted in forklift colliding with narrow building column while negotoating a wide curve); it would most likely not have prevented a rollover caused by a heavy swinging load; may have prevented a rollover of a forklift where the operator did a sharp turn with a lifting clamp at height; would not have prevented a worker being run over once again due to the mast blind spot; would not have prevented a collision with a pedestrian and his death while carrying pallets 2 high forwards into a pantech trailer; would not have prevented an eight tonne load tipping of forklift tynes and killing a worker; and would not have prevented a walkie forklift falling of a truck tail gate and killing the operator.

So it would be unrealistic to expect SAS to eliminate all rollover and tipover fatalities.

brochure sent.

You can email me at Jcgr81~at~yahoo~dot com and I'll be happy to send you a copy of the corporate brochure that documents it. You are correct in that it doesn't specifically say that on the website. I'm not sure if I saw that on there before, or if I was remembering the brochure I have in front of me and thought it was from the website. Either way, I have this brochure from Toyota.

Yotaguy,

I would like to know exactly where you found that statistic? I checked out Toyota's website and didn't find any statement to that effect, so I just wanted to verify the accuracy. Below is an excerpt from their website, which talks of decreased tipover fatalities, but every lift truck manufacturer has done that. Please point me to the source.

"There are more than 100,000 SAS-equipped lift trucks in the field with over 450 million hours of operation. With an increased population of SAS-equipped trucks in the field and in conjunction with mandatory operator training, overturn fatalities across all brands have decreased by 13.6 percent since 1999." ~toyotaforkliftdotcom

1. Your country name : United States of America.

2. Does your country have laws and regulations regarding safe lift truck operation? Yes.

3. What is the name/number of the law or reg? 29 CFR 1910.178, et. al.

4. Does your country mandate the use of a seat belt for lift truck operators? Yes.

5. Does your country require licensing of LT operators. (e.g. You go to a gov't office to obtain it. No, but consistent with OSHA's intentions, I encourage employers to consider VOLUNTARY Licensing of operators.

6. IF NO for number 5. Does your country require training and qualification of lift truck operators? Yes, it requires training, evaluation and certification.

7. Is recertification required at some frequency? Yes, every three (3) years in the USA, and also occasioned by a change in work environment, any unsafe driving action by an operator, class of truck, incident related to a lift truck, and others that are specified in the rule, above.

8. Does your country require testing for LT operators?
a. Medical testing (fit for duty): No, not specifically for lift truck operators of 3PLs. Med testing is often a "voluntary" human resources hiring policy for the purpose of screening all employees hired at larger companies, Such medical testing carries with it a responsibility to abide by non-OSHA rules such as those from EEO, OFCCP, et.al.

b. Drug/alcohol testing: NO. This is also a VOLUNTARY policy and normal hiring practice at many companies in the USA and carries with it the same added responsibilities, as above.


In my opinion, medical and drug testing of forklift truck operators who are already on the job can be counter-productive, and often fails to solve the real problem of forklift fatality of the tip over kind (or any other type of forklift-related injury or callateral damage).

If you are going to test operators, I recommend rigorous ON-TRUCK testing; ensuring that the test is designed with content validity, has established inter-rater reliability, and is specific to the make & model as well as the specific tasks required on-the-job. Of course, such a testing practice requires some related training for experienced operators, is expensive to design and implement, and assures that operators are now able to keep themselves and others out of harm's way. Finally, it is important that the local management practices, as well as workplace engineering practices, encourage, rather than discourage, safe forklift operator actions.

Best wishes,

Joe Monaco
National LIFT Truck Operator Registry (LIFTOR)
jmonaco AT LIFTOR DOT com

Just as a note,

There has never been a tip-over fatality on a TOYOTA equipped with the System of Active Stability (SAS). Toyota even promotes this and has statistics on their website. The competition can say all they want about the system, but bottom line is that it works and it is virtually maintenance free.

1. Your country name United Kingdom
2. Does your country have laws and regulations regarding safe lift truck operation? Yes
3. What is the name/number of the law or reg? PUWER 1998, LOLER 1998
4. Does your country mandate the use of a seat belt for lift truck operators? Yes
5. Does your country require licensing of LT operators? Yes
7. Is recertification required at some frequency? Yes
8. Does your country require testing for LT operators? Yes