Safety Tidbit 5.08 - Forklift Safety Program at a Home Improvement Store

Safety Tidbit 5.08 – Forklift Safety Program at a Home Improvement Store

This Safety Tidbit was written by one of my students, Levi Bruner – a senior in the Safety Sciences Program at the Indiana University of PA.

Throughout workplaces across the United States, policies for forklift safety are essential for ensuring a safe work environment. It is common for home renovation centers (e.g., Lowes) to store up, rather than out. Lifts help associates retrieve items off top shelves. Let's take a look at some of the practices used to ensure worker and customer safety.

There are different steps that you must go through to get certified on a forklift. The first step is going through an online safety course that goes over the following:

1. Use of spotters
2. Choosing the right forklift for the job
3. Barricading off the area while working with a forklift
4. Bringing products down from the shelving 
5. Introducing the controls on the forklift

First, spotters must always be 10 feet in front of the forklift. Second, to pick the right forklift, you need to know the weight limit on the forklift and the weight of the object you will be picking up, and if the object weighs less than the weight limit of the forklift, then that forklift is safe to use. Third, when barricading off the aisle, a forklift is used in also the aisle adjacent must be blocked in case anything falls. When bringing the item down from the shelf, the operator must honk the horn multiple times. Lastly, is that all the controls on the forklift must be explained and practiced.

After an operator completes the online training, the operator must be trained by a certified spotter until you feel comfortable enough to take the operator's test. This test differs on which department the operator works. The certifier can do anything from setting up a little obstacle course to make you use your mirrors and make sure you are vigilant while driving. Another thing a certifier can do is make you bring stuff down from a height and then put it back up. They must make the practical exam test an operator's ability to use the forklift.

A shortcoming of the program is the difficulty in becoming a certifier. The prospective certifier only needs to read a book and sign off that they read it. The second and final step is to be observed creating an operator test by someone who is already certified. 

So, although an operator must spend a little extra time with a spotter and gain some experience before testing, becoming a certifier is easier. Ultimately, becoming a certifier rests with the expertise of the existing certifier or the employer (which is a limitation of the OSHA forklift standard).

The practices of having a spotter when operating a forklift making sure the adjacent aisle is blocked off are key to accident prevention. However, it would be nice if the certifier had a more rigorous training program.

Hope this was helpful and thank you for reading my Safety Tidbits! Comments and questions are always welcome. ~ Bryan

P.S. If you have a new safety or health question, please let me know.