"threw the man head first into the windshield...."

Forklifts are in every facility in our industry. Their size and use varies but their hazard is similar, deadly. Here is a recent incident emphasizing the importance of forklift truck safe operating procedures.

An employee was injured one afternoon in a workplace accident in the USA during the summer of 2016. Crews with local Emergency Medical Services responded to the call at an aluminium company. Crews arrived on the scene to find a man "partially trapped in the forklift," said spokesperson.

The local emergency service spokesman said the forklift tilted forward, throwing the man head first into the windshield. The patient complained of having no feeling in his arms or legs.

Emergency personnel requested a medical helicopter for transport and as the man was being loaded into the helicopter, he reported the sensation of tinging in his extremities. The injured worker was flown 90 kilometers to a trauma hospital.

The Aluminium Plant Safety Blog prays that the injured worker recovers fully from his injuries. We hope that the aluminium company will provide the necessary physical and mental counseling to this worker for his to fully recover. Many times we have found that workers injured during certain procedure or in a department have difficulty either continuing with that procedure or working in that department. We hope the company will be considerate and if necessary transfer that worker to another position. As an example a worker once told us about molten metal burned he suffered in a casthouse. The burn was minor but the worker told us that when he was around the casthouse the scare ached. He explained that he knows it is mental but the pain associated with this ache was so bothersome that he was forced to transfer away from the casthouse. Though that might sound like an extreme example it more common than one would believe. We have stated many times that after the physical scars heal the mental pain lingers for many workers in our injured who either suffered an injury or were present when a coworker was injured.

A forklift moving forward with a capacity load could tip forward if forced to stop abruptly. Especially if the forklift was traveling up an incline. It is unknown if the worker was wearing a seatbelt. But we would assume from the limited information provided in the news media article that worker was not wearing a seatbelt at the time of the incident. If he was buckled in (like every moveable equipment operator should be) we would find it hard to understand how the worker would have hit the windsheld when the forklift tipped forward.

On our tours throughout the industry we view hundreds upon hundreds of forklifts. Our hosts are taken aback when we unexpectedly stop and observe forklifts that are operating. Our checklist includes but not limited to location of forklift, windshield condition (if any), doors (if any), seatbelt use, warning lights, warning sound, etc. Anyone of those previous listed items have been a contributing factor in an incident posted on the Aluminium Plant Safety Blog.

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