We had an accident last night

Advertisement
- 28 Apr 2022 ( #1074 )
2 min read

“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 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

To learn more about impactful advertisements: download our media kit
The article on this page is supplied by and shown on behalf of an advertiser and does not in any way represent the views of Forkliftaction. The originators take full responsibility for their content. We advise you to contact the advertiser directly for any matters concerning this article.
Words of support …

Thanks to advertising with Forkliftaction, we have received inquiries and more and more people are aware of Ningbo Ruyi Joint Stock Co.,Ltd, which fits with our company's goal to go global and let the world know more about the benefits of our Xilin brand.

Michille Shi, Vice General Manager Sales
Upcoming in the editorial calendar
WIRELESS CHARGING
Aug 2025
MANAGING MIXED FLEETS
Oct 2025

Are you recruiting? Find your ideal candidate among a diverse range of materials handling professionals:

Forkliftaction's JOB MARKET

Inside The News
While innovation and new technology are evolving at what seems to be an ever-increasing pace, the need to capture the data (telemetry) from this tech, and the ability to utilise it (telematics) for efficiency and cost savings, is one area attracting more and more attention ... Continue reading
TOC Europe wraps up Rotterdam, Netherlands
Inside The News
While innovation and new technology are evolving at what seems to be an ever-increasing pace, the need to capture the data (telemetry) from this tech, and the ability to utilise it (telematics) for efficiency and cost savings, is one area attracting more and more attention ... Continue reading
Words of support …

Undoubtedly, peer experience plays a crucially important role in our industry and it is extremely valuable for us to be part of the platform, where industry professionals, as well as end users can discuss and learn more about the materials handling world.

Alexandra Artemova, Marketing Specialist
Upcoming in the editorial calendar
WIRELESS CHARGING
Aug 2025
MANAGING MIXED FLEETS
Oct 2025

Are you recruiting? Find your ideal candidate among a diverse range of materials handling professionals:

Forkliftaction's JOB MARKET

Inside The News
While innovation and new technology are evolving at what seems to be an ever-increasing pace, the need to capture the data (telemetry) from this tech, and the ability to utilise it (telematics) for efficiency and cost savings, is one area attracting more and more attention ... Continue reading
Words of support …

I know I can count on them. They give valuable suggestions on the campaign planning, and to publish content is as easy as abc, as they take care of the material layout and check links. This is a great support.

Annalisa Castellini, Marketing Manager

Are you recruiting? Find your ideal candidate among a diverse range of materials handling professionals:

Forkliftaction's JOB MARKET

Upcoming in the editorial calendar
WIRELESS CHARGING
Aug 2025
MANAGING MIXED FLEETS
Oct 2025