Untrained people assume they know how it works and fail to understand the potential dangers when handling loads of 5,000 lbs. – not including the weight of the pallet truck at 200 plus pounds.
As an Example – Ask your staff what direction they should travel down an incline and how to stop the pallet truck and load in the event an emergency stop is required. Hint – Loads face downhill always!Emergency stop procedure is “lower the load”.
Just consider this – Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) reports that from 2002 – 2016 a total of 56 major injuries occurred involving pallet trucks. (*)
These included:
- 25 fractures
- Four fatalities
- Eight amputations
How safe are your employees? Do they ALL know how to handle this “simple” piece of equipment?
Management/Employers often overlook the need to have this equipment included in the annual lifting device inspection routine. The manual pallet truck is not a part of the CSA B335-15 standard, but don’t for a second believe that it’s not a lifting device.
Include manual pallet trucks in your training and ensure annual inspections are kept up to
date.
Protect your Employees! Protect their Futures!
Source: http://blog.lantech.com/blog/pallet-jack-safety-fails-a-serious-problem
To download the printer version: Manual Pallet Truck Training REALLY?
