Minimising forklift accidents caused by poor eyesight

Solution: Occhio Vision Care on-site eye examinations

A soft drink bottling warehouse in Melbourne recently had a serious safety issue with one of its forklift drivers who frequently crashed into the corners of pallets while operating his forklift. This posed a serious risk to both himself and other employees at the warehouse, as well as an operational problem due to the consequential cost of damaged products and equipment.

Seeing this frequent occurrence, the company's safety officer asked the 27-year-old forklift driver to visit an optometrist and have his eyes examined. The employee declined the request, adamant that he didn't need to have his eyes examined and that he didn't have a vision problem. Further, the employee felt that he was being harassed by the company regarding his vision and his mishaps while operating the forklift. As a result, he took his personal issue up with the union to address it with the company on his behalf.

After discussions between the union and the company, it was agreed by both parties that there was a safety issue to consider with the forklift drivers in the warehouse. From these discussions, the company decided to create a policy that all of the forklift drivers at the facility would be required to have an eye examination. This pragmatic solution worked towards minimising risks in handling materials in the warehouse while preventing the employee in question from suggesting he was being singled out.

Safety eyewear and on-site vision testing company, Occhio was contracted to visit the site and test all 10 forklift drivers. The Occhio Vision Care (OVC) program is a service offered to corporate, commercial and industrial clients, which includes the provision of on-site testing and corrective safety eyewear services. OVC went to this company's premises and conducted basic vision screening tests on each of the forklift drivers, which took only 10 minutes out of each of the driver's time at work - a minimal disruption to the operation of the warehouse. This initial test determined if the employees needed to have a follow-on full eye examination, which was conducted on site as well, again minimising disruption to the operations.

The results from the testing were staggering because four of the 10 drivers actually failed the basic vision screening test, and from this result three of the drivers now have prescription safety eyewear for distance vision that they wear while operating their forklifts.

Following the tests, the company proceeded to arrange and pay for new prescription safety glasses for these staff.

The company's safety officer was thrilled with the results that initially started off as a serious safety concern which threatened to boil over as a contentious union issue. The forklift drivers valued the exercise in making their jobs easier to perform without individuals being singled out, while the company's management was very appreciative of the problem being solved quickly and amicably for all parties, while preventing an imminent serious accident at such little cost.

Occhio director, Andrew O'Hanlon remarks on the impact to the company: "We often receive comments from companies that we provide eye assessment and correction for. In this instance, people said to us "We were really surprised how many failed the screen test" and a complimentary "The service you provided was very quick and the staff are very happy with the selection of safety eyewear." That feedback is invaluable to know that we've assisted them in overcoming some of their safety problems."

"Most companies aren't aware of the type of service we can provide and often leave the issue of eye examination and correction up to the individual to organise themselves with their local optometrist. Unfortunately, this responsibility is often not followed through or the optometrist they've gone to isn't aware of the latest Australian safety standards for medium-impact eyewear ratings. In these cases, staff return to work unknowingly wearing non-compliant safety eyewear. The company is then in danger of being scrutinised by safety authorities when an eye injury occurs to the worker wearing the non-compliant prescription safety eyewear. Companies really need to address prescription safety eyewear through a safety-oriented company rather than just a general optometrist, who may not comprehend the bigger safety picture."