The company* complied with OSHA, but a worker still died (and another was injured).
You’re complying with all OSHA Regulations. It doesn’t mean you have a safe workplace. After a company was cited for violating OSHA’s General Duty Clause following a fatal forklift underride accident, it was able to get the violation vacated by a US Court of Appeals.
The company did the minimum. According to the Court, it was in compliance. But it still had two underride accidents within 6 months. The first worker was severely injured. The second was killed.
The company had taken two steps to avoid forklift underride:
- It had trained forklift operators to always look in the direction of travel, to drive at safe speeds and to maintain proper control of the forklift.
- It had made the racking aisles wider than the minimum safe width for forklifts.
But the company took no additional actions, such as modifying the shelving or adding rear posts to the forklifts to make underride virtually impossible.
The goal of workplace safety must be zero accidents, not just meeting regulatory rules. If you have reach trucks and stand up forklifts, put a Backbone on them.
What is underride?
Standup Forklift Underride
Standup Forklift with Rear Guarding
*The court case was Chewy, Inc. v. U.S. Department of Labor, No. 22-11626 (11th Cir. 2023)
To find out more about The Backbone, or to order, get in contact or call Norm at (+1) 416.587.5809.
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