5 Forklift Safety Issues with Simple Solutions

Every year in the United States, forklifts contribute to approximately 85 deaths and 34,900 severe injuries, costing employers roughly $40,000 per injury and $1.4 million per death. Moreover, OSHA predicts that 70% of these accidents are avoidable. We all want safer facilities, but how do you prevent these accidents from devastating your organization? Unfortunately, there's no one fix. However, many small changes add up to serious protection for your staff and your operation. Read on to learn five forklift safety issues with easy, inexpensive solutions.

1. Operators Not Wearing Forklift Safety Belts

While you can't prevent every forklift accident, you can take steps to minimize the damage. Flipping the truck is the most common type, making up 50% of forklift accidents. Human instinct tells many operators to jump out of the truck as it starts to overturn. However, this is actually the worst thing to do because it results in mousetrapping, a fatal type of injury where the forklift operator is crushed between the ground and the forklift. In truth, the safest place to be when a forklift flips is safety belted into the driver's seat. However, many forklift operators don't consider what could go wrong when they start work each day. Consequently, forklift seat belts are quickly forgotten.

Solution: Forklift Safety Belts

While the solution is simple, getting operators to wear their safety belts consistently is an exercise in social engineering. Thankfully, there are products you can use to ensure compliance. The simplest option is a high-visibility forklift seat belt that allows supervisors to easily see when belts are worn. Add these belts to your existing forklifts for as little as $180 apiece.

However, more advanced solutions, like the Safe-Belt, improve compliance. These models include spring arms to flag both operators and supervisors when belts are not worn. Moreover, they can upgrade to include an ignition switch preventing the forklift from turning on until the seat belt fastens. Models like the Safe-Belt with ignition switch run around $380 per unit.

2. Operators Placing Cardboard Over the Cab

No one likes working in the rain, especially when it means you're going to get wet. The simple solution is to put something between you and the rain, like an umbrella, but for forklift operators, umbrellas and jackets don't do the job. To address this, many operators put cardboard on the cab's overhead guard. That seems like an easy fix, but it's more hazard than solution. 

Opaque materials covering the overhead guard create a critical blind spot, which means the operator has to stick their head out from under the safety of the guard during lifting. This creates a serious injury risk from falling objects and violates OSHA standard 1917.43(e)(1)(ii).

Solution: Forklift Cab Covers

Mercifully, there are many aftermarket solutions to address this. A simple but rugged forklift cab cover, like the ClearCap canopy, protects your operators from the rain without obstructing visibility. You can acquire these easy-to-install add-ons for as little as $290, depending on the size of your forklift. For more complete weather protection, a system like the TuffCab forklift cab enclosure fully protects your operators from the elements, meaning they can work comfortably even in stormy weather.

Read more: 3 Money-Saving Reasons to Buy a Forklift Cab Cover

3. Backup Alarms Blending With Machinery Alarms

Warehouses and manufacturing facilities are noisy places. Sounds from various sources easily blend together until they become background noise. Unfortunately, that puts pedestrians at risk. When pedestrians are unable to distinguish forklift backup alarms from other facility alarms, they are more likely to have a potentially fatal accident.

Solution: Forklift Safety Lights

The simple solution to cutting through the noise is to add visual triggers to auditory forklift alarms. Arrow Blue Lights and Arc Lights are two easy ways to do this. Arrow Blue Lights project a blue arrow on the floor ahead of the forklift. That way, pedestrians can see the path of an oncoming forklift before seeing the forklift itself. Forklift Arc Lights take this to the next level by casting red arcs on the floor in front of and behind a forklift. 

These lights indicate an exclusion zone for pedestrians, making it simple for them to know just how far away to stay from an operating forklift. Either of these solutions costs around $150.

4. Operators Speeding Through the Warehouse

Unsafe operation, including speeding, was the number one most-cited OSHA forklift violation in 2023. While employee training is essential to reducing speeding, it doesn't eliminate the problem. Busy facilities often have ambitious quotas that pressure forklift operators to get more done in less time. Consequently, stressed and pressed operators are likely to push the limits of safe operating speed to meet their position's demands. However, this seriously jeopardizes safety and can lead to steep OSHA fines.

Solution: Forklift Speed Control Systems

The best and easiest solution is to invest in forklift speed controls, like Toyota's Factory Speed Controls or Clark's Turtle Mode. These are just two examples, as many forklift brands include these features. Investing in speed controls locks your forklifts into lower maximum speeds. This takes the decision to race around out of your operator's hands and ensures they can only operate at safe travel speeds.

5. Watering Issues and Exposure to Battery Acid

As far as maintenance goes, watering lead acid batteries is one of the most dangerous tasks. Every time your team opens a battery, they risk exposure to highly corrosive sulfuric acid. Sulfuric acid poses such a severe risk that proper PPE and spill protection are necessary when interacting with a forklift’s lead acid battery.

Solution: Forklift Watering System

A forklift battery watering system is one of the easiest and most effective solutions for preventing battery acid exposure. These systems allow operators to top off battery levels without directly interacting with the sulfuric acid. These systems vary in price depending on how comprehensive you want them. However, you can get the basics, like the Frotek Aqua Low Profile Battery Watering System, for as little as $355. When used with proper PPE, these systems protect your team from acid splashes and burns.

Your Forklift Safety Advisor

There is no one fix-all solution for forklift safety. It’s a process of incremental growth. More often than not, small changes add up, making the biggest improvements in your forklift safety record. 

Unfortunately, some of these changes appear so minimal that they are easy to miss. That’s where we come in. With a century of experience behind us, we know all the tips and tricks to making your forklift fleet the safest in the business. Let us help by providing you with a comprehensive safety assessment. To learn more about simple forklift safety fixes or to schedule your assessment, contact us online or visit one of our locations:

Arkansas - Jonesboro
Alabama - Birmingham, Dothan, Irondale, Madison, Mobile, and Montgomery
Mississippi - Belden, Tupelo, and Richland
Tennessee - Jackson, Memphis, Knoxville, and Kingsport

Further Reading
Warehouse Safety Topics: Corrosive Materials
Top 4 Forklift Operator Bad Habits
Electric Forklifts in the Rain