Forklift safety measures

There are many different types of forklift trucks, but the majority all share a range of common hazards and safety measures.

Today, we are going to look at the safety measures and what you can do to reduce the chance of an accident occurring on your site.

Some of the main hazards associated with forklift trucks are:

• The forklift overturning
• Falling loads
• Striking of pedestrians, plant or equipment
• Falls or entrapment of operator
• Unauthorised persons riding on the side of the forklift
• Fueling or charging forklift

These are just a few hazards associated with forklift trucks and we could write an entire article on just these, however we want to focus on the safety measures and what you can do to ensure that if you operate forklifts on your premises, that everyone on site is safe.

So with that in mind, the safety measures we recommend that you look at include:

• Restricting use of the forklift to trained operators only
• Routine visual inspections of the forklift truck before use
• Routine maintenance of the forklift truck
• Never use the forklift to lift people up unless a proper working platform is attached
• Ensure that the load on the forks is secure and stable
• Ensure that safe working load limits of the truck are not exceeded
• Observe site speed limits
• Observe pedestrian walkways, crossings, doors, etc.
• Never travel with the forks raised high
• Never travel with obstructed vision

The above control measures are not exhaustive but would dramatically reduce the risk of an accident happening on your site, if you use forklifts so we hope that you have found these helpful.

If you would like to discuss how to make your site even safer, then please get in touch with us and we will be more than happy to help you out with your health and safety needs.

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