Lightening the load
October 1st 2006

It is not only in an employer's legal interests to make sure their employees are handling goods and loads safely, it is also in their economic interests as millions of working hours are lost every year through injury, and personal injury compensation claims are on the increase. Lifting something by hand is hard work, but there are ways of lightening the load, as George Williams of B&B Attachments, explains

According to HSE statistics, more than a third of all industrial accidents each year are caused by handling loads. Most are strains to the back, arms, hands and fingers as a result of pushing, pulling or lifting as well as sprains to the wrist, thumb and ankle. Many accidents are caused by lifting heavy things too often, by twisting round to stack things at the side, or by pulling loads when 'giving a good heave'. Most can be prevented. In fact employers have a legal duty to reduce exposure to such risks. The HSE Manual Handling Regulations state: 'So far as is reasonably practical companies should avoid the need for their employees to undertake any manual handling operations at work which involve a risk to their being injured'.

Appropriate attachment The clamping, lifting, turning and pushing of static objects are operations required throughout many industrial production processes. Using an appropriate forklift attachment will not only improve the handling of loads but will remove the risk from manual handling. There are numerous attachments available for safely carrying out a wide range of handling applications. Each has a specific role in ensuring the safe handling of loads.

Sideshift – enables final adjustments of load positions without moving the complete truck. All truck movements can present a risk to others.

Fork positioner – saves the driver leaving the cab to adjust the forks which could cause injury to hands and back, and allows the best fork spacing for the load, thus improving load stability.

Drum clamp/rotator – manual methods of manoeuvring and tipping could cause foot, hand and back injury.

Load stabiliser – unstable loads can cause injury to those in the vicinity.

Camera – the operator should always be able to see what he/she is doing. This can be impossible in double deep racking and could cause loads to be pushed from it.

Cameras can also help prevent neck problems caused by looking up at an acute angle in high racking.

Working platform – installed and used properly this can allow safe occasional access to heights.

Double pallet handlers – these can improve safety by reducing the number of truck movements to complete a given job, for example, loading/unloading a lorry.

Fork spreader – this can allow more stable, thus safer, carriage of long loads compared to standard fork spread.

Rotator – controlled rotation and emptying of loads.

Manual emptying of boxes, for example, could cause back and hand injury.

Paper roll clamp – manual manoeuvring of rolls can be extremely hazardous.

Tyre handlers – the fitting of large wheels can really only be undertaken safely with some form of wheel manipulator.

Legal requirement It is not only important to use appropriate attachments for safer handling, it is also a legal requirement to ensure equipment is safely used. The safe use of forklift truck attachments is dealt with in the Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998 (LOLER) and the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations (PUWER) 1998.

LOLER covers the bringing together of the truck and attachment and the subsequent requirement to derate and then plate the truck accordingly. It requires all lifting operations to be properly supervised and planned with due regard to all of the operational conditions. It also provides for a regime of thorough examination by competent persons and specifies that full records of such inspections must be fully maintained.

Such examinations should cover initial installation of equipment, ongoing inspection at preset times and should take account of the duty and conditions under which equipment operates, and should always be carried out after any major modification or repair. Using companies such as B&B Attachments to carry out inspections can help improve health and safety and ensure maximum uptime of the attachment. The condition and performance of the attachment is monitored on an ongoing basis so that potential problems can be found and modified before they become serious.

Attachments turn the forklift truck into a multifunctional vehicle that not only makes safer handling possible but reduces or eliminates the need for manual interface with the truck. By purchasing the correct attachment for a specific operation and ensuring that it is regularly serviced, a company provides its employees with a safe environment and an efficient handling solution.

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