Companies have been fined after accidents. PHOTO: SHUTTERSTOCK

A Washington State regulator proposes penalising Cogdall Construction Co Inc USD14,700, Goodwill Industries USD9,000 and Gensco Inc USD3,300 following fatalities involving forklifts.

The occupational safety and health division of the state's Olympia-based department of labor and industries cited the organisations for related safety violations.

Cogdall

The Cogdall inspection involved a contract furnishings mart in Fife, Washington and listed 11 violations.

On 30 May, a forklift operator was killed while he was unloading pallets from a trailer at the mart. The trailer rolled away from the dock, and the forklift rolled off the end. The victim was killed when he fell off the forklift, and it landed on him.

The inspector says Cogdall failed to ensure the chocking or blocking of truck wheels when using a forklift for loading or unloading, neglected to make sure forklift operators used seatbelts or lap-bars as restraints and did not gain written approval from a forklift's manufacturer before making modifications or alterations of a powered industrial truck. Further, Cogdall did not ensure that employees had successfully completed a forklift operator training program.

Cogdall has paid the fine.

Goodwill

The Goodwill Industries inspection followed a fatality involving Chuck K. Lee, 69, a customer at the Lynnwood, Washington donation site, a police report says.

The forklift operator, 46, was driving forward through a parking lot carrying a box of merchandise, saw a flash of "blue" in front and slammed on the brakes. The box on the tines of the propane-powered Yale forklift fell forward and landed on the customer. The incident occurred on 18 August and Lee died the next day.

The regulator cited Goodwill for not ensuring that the powered industrial truck operator's views were unobstructed during forward travel.

Another violation says "the employer did not ensure that an employee operated a powered industrial truck safely", citing failures to keep a clear view of path of travel, keep control of the forklift at all times and drive at a speed that allowed the forklift to be stopped safely.

The inspector says multiple operators did not receive training and notes the Yale forklift "operator's manual was not included in the training".

Goodwill has until 26 December to appeal the violation.

Goodwill Industries International Inc of Rockville, Maryland operates through a network of 165 independent community-based organisations in the US and Canada. The Lynnwood location is affiliated with Goodwill Industries Seattle.

Gensco

The Gensco inspection followed a 23 June fatality at the company's headquarters facility in Tacoma, Washington. Employees were using a forklift to move a press brake weighing 11,500 lb. (5,175 kg). The press brake tipped over onto a mechanic, and he was killed.

The employer was cited for one serious violation for not providing a workplace free from recognised hazards. "Upon inspection, three employees were documented to have been exposed to unsecured equipment falling by not selecting a safe method to move a Wysong press brake," the agency says.

Gensco has until 20 December to appeal the violation.

Gensco is a wholesale distributor of heating, ventilation and air conditioning supplies and equipment to contractors in Washington, Oregon, Alaska, Idaho and Montana.