FREE Forklift Safety Tip no: 17
Lifting People On A Pallet Or On The Fork Arms
This week’s safety tip is an obvious yet very important one. It is against the law for anyone to stand or be raised on the fork arms, a pallet or anything other than an approved work platform or safety cage.
Almost every forklift operator has lifted someone standing on a pallet at some point and most have gotten away with it without a hitch. What are the chances of WorkCover walking in while someone is up in the air on a pallet? Very slim right?
The real problems come when the person being lifted is injured in any way. You see, the person being lifted isn’t covered by insurance while they’re up there. Minor injuries can cost your company a lot of money and serious injuries or a death will cause the sort of investigation that can cripple a small business.
When someone falls from a lifted pallet and is injured, they’ll usually do one of two things:
1: Sue the individual operator who lifted them up.
2: Sue the company that they work for.
If the forklift operator is licensed, they’ll incur a WorkCover fine and risk loosing their license indefinitely. The Company will have to prove that they have procedures in place for operating a forklift and that raising someone on a pallet or fork arms is against their procedures. They’ll also have to show what steps they take to ensure that their operators are trained and aware of such procedures.
So How Can People Be Raised With A Forklift?
Proper work platforms can be bought and approved for your forklifts so that people can be raised legally. The platform would have to be made and certified by one of the few authorised manufacturers and would have to be approved for use on your forklifts.
Using anything other than an approved work platform to lift people with a forklift is illegal. Work platforms are only supposed to be used to raise or lower people, not drive with someone inside. This is why most companies choose to hire or buy scissor lifts for stock takes and maintenance to factory lights etc: instead of using work platforms. Scissor lifts are safer, require only one person to operate and can legally drive with a person raised in the air.
For any assistance or for more information regarding this matter, feel free to call our office on 1300 799 112 or email me nathan@ausforklifttraining.com.au