“We had an accident today!
Can you get us some “Backbones” shipped overnight?”
Request made by yet another customer.
True story – July 2021.
The Backbone® from Lakeport Metalcraft Inc.
The “accident” was a stand-up forklift underride. It might have involved a serious injury, or a fatality, or the customer may have been lucky, and only suffered a fright. They didn’t share details… But they immediately refused to operate their reach trucks/stand-up forklifts without “The Backbones” to protect their operators.
Like insurance, or a seatbelt, or a helmet, nobody needs “The Backbone” until they do. And then, it’s too late. Admittedly, underride accidents are rare. But when they do happen, they almost always cause catastrophic harm and damage. The US National Safety Council calculated the costs of work-related injuries:
- $1,220,000 per death
- $42,000 per medically consulted injury
Source: Work Injury Costs - Injury Facts (nsc.org)
These estimates reflect the total cost to society, not just the employers. But let’s assume that 25% of these costs are yours. Can your business afford it?
There are reputational costs to consider.
- Customers avoid doing business with companies that have poor safety records. Good luck bidding on contracts.
- People avoid working for companies with poor safety records. Good luck recruiting.
- Employees mistrust employers who fail to make safety a priority.
- Anxious employees are less productive employees.
Most importantly, consider the impact on the affected employee, the employee’s family, and friends. A critical injury or death irrevocably changes lives – for the worse.
Do YOU need “The Backbone”?
If you use stand up forklifts and reach trucks around racking, where there’s the possibility of underride, the answer is “Yes”.
- Talk to your operators. Are they confident operating a stand-up forklift without a rear guard?
- Talk to your safety experts and engineers. Have them conduct a safety audit. A major automotive company did just that and determined that every reach truck in their fleet must have “The Backbone”.
By the way, we’ll still gladly ship you Backbones, overnight, after an accident.
But we’d much rather ship them before.
For more information, contact:
Norm Nopper, President
Lakeport Metalcraft Inc.
Manufacturer of The Backbone® Safety Bar for Reach Trucks
Direct Line: +1 416-587-5809
Send an email