There are numerous hazards in the aluminium industries that are located in fixed locations. Movable equipment by their nature are a hazard that can be in one place one moment and another place the next moment. In 2012 there were several movable equipment accidents resulting in numerous accidents and several fatalities in the aluminium industry. Here is a story that occurred on the week January 6, 2013.
In Pennsylvania in the United States a worker was taken to a local hospital after being run over by a forklift at an alumina plant.
On the morning of the accident, another employee operating a forklift truck and didn't notice a worker walking behind him. The forklift truck backup and hit the worker, breaking his leg in several place, officials said.
The worker "was walking in a red zone," the police chief said. "That's a danger zone, and he wasn't paying attention".
"His foot was entrapped under the forklift," said local fire chief. "It took about 42 minutes for rescue crews to get the machine off injured workers leg."
Countless injuries and deaths have resulted when pedestrian(s) and mobile equipment operators were unaware of each other's location. There are numerous processes and technologies to ensure that movable equipment operators and pedestrians are aware of each other.
Occupational Health & Safety Administration (OSHA) has several documents dealing with powered industrial trucks. The documents can be viewed here.
27 comments:
Last smelter I worked there was an elevatade walkway connecting all facilities. Against previous experience it seemed non sense, but lately I considered the most significant contribution to avoid mobile equipments and pedestrians accidents.
there should be a walk way for pedestrians so that they do not need to walk through the drive way. sometimes fork lift operators do not see through because of the load stack on the lift thus posing danger. All workers needs to be aware of the environment to avoid danger.
Thank you your comments. Movable equipment operators and pedestrians both need to be aware of each other. I toured one facility that had fixed walkways with inward facing gates. Upon the gate opening, a flashing light went off to warn nearby movable equipment operators that pedestrians were cross a traffic lane.
It is a simple thing to see if a Forklift is a machine we used to manage to any kind of job. We need to train everyone supposed to use. And teach them all know how to avoid hazards situations that may affect our company environmental by learning how to mitigate or prevent. Because,each human been has its problems then we may have to re-enforce people to apply daily work safety plan in field everywhere employees are. And the one will be found out of rule, is punished and get a maximum control in place. People must follow all necessary rule before you start need to check around the work environmental place if there can be any hazard associated for the operator.
Thank you for sharing this.
Forklifts are the most dangerous equipment in moving mechaniry of a smelter & this is another example, as shared by APSB
This Type of Incident can be minimize by corrective & preventive actions. No permit no work policy should be implemented.
1) all this type of equipment have to have flashing/rotating light on the equipment.
2) while taking reverse some sound can be put to the equipment.
3) All driver must have third party certificate.
4) a trained Flag man / Banks man should be present all the time while taking reverse.
5) Area should be barricaded.
6) Safety signage should be in place.
7) supervisor must present all the time
8) Equipment maintenance should be done properly.
9) A daily check for the equipment.
10) A driver not to be work more then his efficiency. etc.............
It isn't always possible to do everything above, especially in normal operation. When you read the story, there is segregation of vehicles and pedestrians by zoning. The injury happened in a 'Red' zone, presumably an area where pedestrians shouldn't be. It is easy to blame FLT drivers, however, anyone that needs to go into an area where vehicles are working should make sure that the drivers know he is there, and keep out of the way. If access is required for maintenance etc, then the area should be barricaded and maybe a permit issued, but if it is normal operation, then the separation needs to be policed.
All the OSHA and other regulations that exist are valuable in terms of prevention, but there are always going to be unforeseen circumstances. Continued emphasis on safety (regular meetings and training) and using common sense are also extremely useful. Safety managers should review incidents that have happened not only in their own company or area but also those that have occurred in other places. By recognizing that those incidents could happen in their own company, they can implement and create preventive programs to maintain a 100% accident-free environment.
There was obviously a disconnect somewhere between Management and operations.
There was a communication and/or procedural breakdown. A major accident investigation needs to be conducted.
The following statement is troubling on many levels: "The worker "was walking in a red zone," the police chief said. "That's a danger zone, and he wasn't paying attention".
1. I am very curious why a police chief was involved in this. Other than fatalities and a few other exceptions, I find it unusual for the police to be involved in an occupational incident.
2. I have never accepted "[the employee] wasn't paying attention" as an acceptable root cause for incidents. I would consider it as a possible contributing factor.
3. If either of the employees were behaving safely, this incident could have been avoided. Based on the limited information available, it would seem that both employees share in the culpability. The pedestrian was in the wrong place and was not exhibiting an appropriate level of precaution. The driver, apparently, was not aware of his surroundings and likely was not looking in the direction of travel.
4. Given the above, I would certainly start drilling down with the "why" questions for each of the employees involved in order to get to the root cause of why this occurred.
I would certainly not stop at "he wasn't paying attention." Despite all regulatory requirements, behaviors that create unsafe conditions are often not accounted for when compliance is the only goal. OSHA compliance does not ALWAYS translate to prevention.
Put simply, Exclusion Zones need to be part of the traffic management. Any breach of the rules needs to be heavily disciplined and may result in termination of employment. Safety Observations and ceasing the activity if something unsafe is observed needs to be encouraged and rewarded. Discussion with the perpretrator and the observer needs to occur. And an agreement to commit to safe behaviour must be achieved and this needs to be recorded/reported so that any gaps of training can be identified and rectified.
This can oif incident can be avoided by restricting use of the forklift truck to trained operators only
I recently conducted a health and safety audit at a large manufacturing facility and their policy when it came to the interaction of forklifts and workers was that in the yard (where the forklifts operated), forklifts had the right-of-way which put the onus on the worker to always be "on the lookout" for a forklift if their job duties took them into the yard.
This rule was not construed to mean that the forklift operators did not pay attention to their surroundings and other workers, the rule just heightened worker awareness of the hazards when in the yard.
In addition to this requirement was to wear a hi viz vest so one was more visible and to walk in the designated walkway zones which were visibly marked throughout the yard.
As prevention, we give a joint training, driver of forklift trucks with pedestrians, those at risk of getting hit by the lift truck, to raise awareness of the importance of the health and security of the work, this create a discussion between participants. The cooperation between the two is developed more harmoniously, And we have the pleasure to give this training that has immediate changes
This always brings back an incident I was once involved with a Managing Director had asked me to visit his site to discuss display screen assessments walking from teh car park to the offices I was nearly run over by a forklift
Bu trying to tell him he had more serious problems was a waste of time
To add to the list when ever I go into an area where mobile equipment is working I stay in a safe location until I have made eye contact with the operator and he has acknowledge that he has seen me. You then have to make sure you don't cross the path he is taking. Another place I see where there becomes a problem is at large overhear doors. If there is a man door beside the large door all pedestrians should use the man door. If there is no man door but there is a lot of mobile equipment and food traffic it would pay to install a man door away from the main door. For a couple hundred dollars a door can be installed.
I think two above has hit the spot. Management need to be trained up, they need then to be responsible in making sure that the trained operator & the other workers iincluding all managers are aware of their responsibilities in relation to the law in the workplace (depending on where you come from). They also need to ensure that all personnel are au fait with the health & safety guidelines in relation to their place of work. Then managers need to manage these systems. This is a much bigger issue than ''Forklift Truck Runs Over Worker''
The key to safety is engagement and top of mind awareness. Mnemonic triggers are the best for this.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cj599nTS2NU
Forklift accident eventually is causing by driver awareness even they already certified as a competent forklift driver. If come to human attitude, there are only one option to control it. STRONG Implementation of the rules and regulation that has been agreed by HSE Dept. Thanks.
I think most of the accidents of this type are caused by pedestrians entering the area without making eye contact with the operator to let him know they are there and then walking somewhere that they shouldn't.
When i do Forklift Training, the Managers very rarely do the full training & only sometimes sit in on the ''Theory Session''.
In the times we live in, the general forklift operator is under extreme pressure to get orders filled and lorries loaded & the result is a greater risk of accidents happening.
Managers need to understand that promoting greater productivity in the workplace will result in a lapse in Safety procedures learned.
The law says that safe systems of work should prevail.
Another reason for unsafe driving is because operators only get a very basic salary. The rest of their salary is based on orders filled. If the operator can earn a little extra, in my opinion he will have to take risks. The mortgage has to be paid.
that's an interesting remuneration arrangement. I've never come across anything like that in the US.
Regarding training, when I'm contracted to provide forklift training for clients, we spend a significant amount of time in the "in-class" portion discussing driver and pedestrian awareness as well as obeying exclusion areas and traffic restrictions. As I stated earlier, without both the driver and pedestrians performing their respective functions safely, the risk of an incident like this increases significantly. Training, awareness and a progressive disciplinary policy can go a long way to crystallize the importance of safety, whether related to forklifts or other issues.
Likewise i also spend sufficient time in the classroom theory session going through all the Safety procedures.
My point is, who disciplines the driver or who tells the driver he is not operating safely? The manager on the floor can't do it because he has not completed the forklift course.
If there is an accident & there is a court case, the judge will throw it out if the manager cannot manage. He cannot manage a forklift driver unless he has the basic ''driver & pedestrian awareness'' taught ''in-class''.
Managers are there to get work done, as a result safety suffers & no amount of ''Mnemonic triggers'' will cure the drive for productivity.
I truly believe the push for productivity and the race for driver bonus'es do not help.
I think the point in referring to earning extra by filling more orders, is valid and can be very well equated to our unwritten, unspoken rewards programs found in several industries here in the states - you produce more, you earn more, even if just for a move up the ladder (on the shop floor), not necessarily (or always) monetarily. And sometimes producing more, faster, resulted in cutting safety corners. That was most certainly the case in both the wood mill and steel production plants I worked in during my college summers.
What about the customer's role in this? We constantly hear the phrase ... faster, better, quicker ... in American busines today. We are told that this is what our customers demand and what we must provide if we are going to stay in business. Does this produce or die mindset drive us to more accidents and, if yes, why aren't our customers being held accountable in our litigious society?
I have read some of the comments and I agree that further digging into the root cause is needed, I don't see daily driver checks have anything to do with the incident, nor ther trainer, you can have a inhouse trainer that is better than a third party trainer, simple reason is that your hazards can be drilled down and workers get more bang for the buck, because you have someone that knows the specific hazards of that site.
The worker and driver failed the simple rule that I train everyone is that eye contact must done before walking out in front or back of a forklift. I train workers to give notice to the driver and if eye contact hasn't been made do not walk out. Many workers feel that forklifts can stop on a dime and we as Safety trainers need to make sure that not only forklift drivers have training, but workers walking and working around forklifts. I worked a Canada Smelter and we had lot so equipment and workers and we has simple rules if the furance is open or loading, no one is in the area, this is the role not only of the furance operator, but every worker. If a forklift was moving with molten metal the sirn would go off and all others would get away and give the right way.
Training is one of the cheapest insurance policies we have, because with a well trained team that is not afraid to discuss issues with the supervisors will avoid, costly injuries as this poor person.
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