An Assessment of Powered Industrial Truck Risks within a Manufacturing Setting

Abstract

The objective of this research project was to assess the risk of loss producing events involving forklifts in a manufacturing setting. All areas of the study occurred within Organization X’s assembly and warehouse locations. For the assessment of forklift operation risks, a review of previous forklift-based loss-producing incidents indicated the occurrence of a serious injury which resulted in lost time. An analysis of the incident recordkeeping system indicated that Organization X is at risk of experiencing serious people, facility and legal compliance-related losses. An analysis of Company X’s forklift training program in comparison with the applicable Occupational Safety and Health Administration regulations indicated deficiencies regarding training materials and record retention. Given that Organization X has more than doubled in size over the past two years in square footage, there is a significant increase in corresponding forklift incident risks appears to be imminent unless current facility design and training deficiencies are address. Recommendations for Organization X include a review and revision of the forklift training program as well as corresponding instructional materials to assist onsite trainers in educating operators on the methods to decrease incident and near miss occurrences with forklifts. Additional recommendations for Organization X include a need to organize training records for the expedient review of employee competencies as well as to perform routine risk assessments in facility areas that forklifts traverse.