Forklift warning for the ACT

ACT WorkCover has issued a warning to remind employers, employees and third parties of the dangers surrounding forklifts in response to an incident at a construction site this week where a truck driver sustained serious injury after being struck by a load falling from a forklift.

The forklift truck has the potential to be one of the most dangerous pieces of equipment in a workplace with a medium-sized forklift weighing in excess of 5 tonnes.

Acting occupational health and safety commissioner, Steven Hart said "that ensuring the safety of workers, pedestrians, delivery drivers and the use of exclusion zones is a critical aspect of traffic management within a workplace where these machines operate".

He said protecting pedestrians at the workplace requires decisive action to prevent, not just discourage, pedestrians and forklifts from coming into close proximity.

"Raising and lowering loads while driving, travelling too fast, improperly secured loads and being operated on uneven ground are often factors in forklift incidents. Operators of a forklift must hold a licence or be under direct supervision of a licence holder.

"Over recent years there have been a number of serious injuries sustained by workers that have been struck by moving forklifts and have fallen from makeshift working platforms attached to the raised tines. In one of the most serious incidents a truck driver had his left leg amputated from the knee down when a pack of steel in excess of 800 kg was dropped onto his leg."

To be effective a forklift must be manoeuvrable. To achieve manoeuvrability, forklifts are designed to be compact, making them less stable than other vehicles and mobile plant.

Inspectors will be increasing their level of scrutiny on sites visited where forklifts are in operation.

Further information on forklift safety is available at: http://www.workcover.act.gov.au/pdfs/guides_cop/Forklift_Safety_Booklet.pdf.