Page 39 - Occupational Health & Safety, July 2018

It can be a little shocking when you analyze the number of forklift impacts in a typical facility. In some operations, 50 or more impacts a day are common and considered part of the cost of doing business.
tors and champions of best safety practices. They apply what they have learned to help ensure a safe working environment. How- ever, as with every profession, there are al- ways going to be those who either willfully disregard the rules of safety or need addi- tional safety reminders or training. Part of creating a strong safety culture is being able to help determine and identify the behavior of each operator.
The information provided by a fleet and operator management system, if uti- lized properly, should provide a window into operator behavior and an instrument for modifying that behavior. For instance,
ity is empowering operators and managers to make informed decisions that help re- duce costs and improve operator and fork- lift productivity. It can also be used to help increase workplace and operator safety.
A Data-Driven Approach to Safety
A good forklift fleet and operator manage- ment system can leverage the increased connectivity to help managers implement a data-driven, proactive approach to safety. Following are four ways a forklift fleet and operator management system can help im- prove overall safety of the environment.
Reduce Impacts
It can be a little shocking when you analyze the number of forklift impacts in a typical facility. In some operations, 50 or more impacts a day are common and con- sidered part of the cost of doing business. Typically, it has been difficult for managers to understand enough about the impacts to take steps to reduce them.
Forklift fleet and operator management systems provide that visibility by collecting the data that help create an accurate picture of how and when the impacts are occur- ring. Using the data, warehouse managers can identify areas of the facility where im- pacts are most likely to occur and operators who are most likely to be involved. By deal- ing with these root causes, organizations can potentially achieve a significant reduc- tion in facility and product damage that is caused by often avoidable impact events.
Streamline Compliance
Every organization has processes in place to ensure compliance, but how well are those processes working and being documented? The data collected as part of a forklift fleet and operator management sys- tem can bring increased rigor and oversight to compliance processes. In fact, compli- ance with OSHA inspections, training, and licensing requirements is often one of the primary goals of forklift fleet management implementation.
Some systems allow managers to con- trol access to the forklift to ensure that only certified operators use the equipment. Managers can limit access to operators with the required certification and training. An electronic inspection checklist can be cus-
tomized with unique questions to ensure that operators have appropriately inspected the truck to ensure that it is safe to operate. The electronic system documents that the inspection checklist has been completed and the amount of time it took to complete. It then saves this information to provide evidence of compliance to OSHA.
Identify Safe/Unsafe Behavior
Most operators strive to be safe opera-
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