A wishbone or magical thinking: it’s not a safety strategy. Nor is wishing the accident hadn’t happened. We get many calls about The Backbone the day after a forklift underride fatality. That’s the day after offering condolences and apologies to family members; after the family begins funeral arrangements; after work colleagues are dealing with the unthinkable.

The reasons for not installing a Backbone are many: our operators are well trained; it’s their responsibility to drive safely; the government hasn’t told us to do it; and, we’ve never had an underride accident.

But never experiencing an accident is not the same as having a safe workplace. If unsafe conditions persist, you simply get away with it – until you don’t.

So what can you do? To begin, lead safety as if your family worked there. How confident would you be knowing your son, daughter or spouse were a stand up forklift operator at your workplace? With that in mind, take the following steps:

1. Conduct on-site assessments to identify underride hazards in your workplace.
2. Communicate those underride hazard areas to all employees.
3. Provide proper training to all stand up forklift operators. Emphasize keeping a direct line of sight when travelling and looking toward direction of travel at all times.
4. Install protective rear guards to enclose the operator compartment. And insist that the guards are ANSI/ITSDF B56.1 compliant. Ask for proof of testing and compliance.

Above all, talk to your employees. They’re on the floor; they know their jobs best, including safety hazards. Ask your stand up forklift operators how they feel about the lack of a physical barrier protecting their backs. 

Take steps to close out the underride hazard in 2024. Don’t wait for the day after. Don’t rely on a wishbone. Put The Backbone on your stand up forklifts.

To find out more about The Backbone, or to order, get in contact or call Norm at (+1) 416.587.5809. 

Visit www.LakeportMetalcraft.com.