"forks raised in front... suddenly fell, hitting the worker's head..."

 

On our plant tours if time allows, we always ask to visit the vehicle maintenance building. Why? Because we have reported on numerous fatalities involving the maintenance of moveable equipment. Annually, we report on 1-2 fatalities a year. This is an incident from June 2022 that we had yet to post.

At about 21pm today (2st), the Police received a report that an industrial accident had occurred at a scrap aluminium recycling plant located near (location name omitted). According to on-site sources, a forklift leaked oil in the factory at that time, and a worker was responsible for maintenance, and the two forks raised in front of the truck suddenly fell, hitting the worker's head. Ambulance workers arrived at the scene and sent the injured workers to the hospital for treatment. Police are investigating the incident.

We pray that the injured worker recovered from his injuries. We have reported on similar incidents that resulted in a fatality. Moveable equipment maintenance personnel are a unique bunch. The department typically only has a few workers and supervision of these workers is nonexistent. Many times, they are self-supervised. That is why these workers need to be trained. Enforcement of training must occur.  The one task management can insist upon is the fabrication of jigs, supports, etc. for the repeated tasks that occur in the moveable equipment maintenance department. This alone can prevent countless incidents from occurring.

We pray that this posting is printed and sent to the supervisor/manager of your moveable equipment maintenance department.

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