Edition 39, October 2006

Forklifts are high risk

Regular readers of occupational health and safety news will understand why forklift operator licensing is compulsory under the new National Standard for Licensing Persons Performing High Risk Work; occupational health and safety agency news releases regularly highlight the consequences of inappropriate forklift use.

But operator licensing is not enough to secure a workplace free from injury. Recent convictions reported by SafeWork South Australia demonstrate that employers must also be diligent in their duty of care obligations.

One incident left a 24-year-old German backpacker with a broken leg when she fell after being invited to ride on the tines (forks) of a forklift and was then run over by the machine.

The industrial magistrate found that the offending employer did not offer adequate information or instruction on forklift safety. Nor did it provide supervision or written procedures on health and safety practices.

In another incident, a roller door installer fell almost three metres to the ground from a forklift and was then crushed by a falling metal cage.

SafeWork South Australia's Executive Director Michele Patterson says that forklifts are great for lifting loads but present a major risk to health and safety without appropriate precautions or if misused.

Other news releases detailing forklift incidents can be found on state and territory occupational health and safety agency websites. These are listed on the links page of the Licensing Line News website at www.licensinglinenews.com  (Select 'Links' > 'P' > 'prescribed occupations (loadshifting, dogging, rigging, scaffolding, crane or hoist operation and pressure equipment operation').)

This page was generated on 26 August, 2009