Forklift safety is an important issue for us at Forkliftaction News, and we try to highlight the risks and solutions in our news and commentary.
This week, we report on two court decisions which reinforce the major cause of workplace accidents involving materials handling equipment - human error.
In one case, we report on a forklift being used for a purpose for which it was not designed - as an elevated work platform. Clearly, all of the safety design work undertaken by the manufacturer goes out the window when a machine is used incorrectly.
The second revolves around both a lack of maintenance and insufficient training. Again, what is the point of ongoing R&D when the owner fails to adequately maintain the machine - and, to add insult to injury, allows workers to use it without proper instruction?
At the end of the day, it is people that cause accidents - and we need to pay far more attention to training, procedures and risk management.