Project on reducing the amount of Fork Lift Truck accidents in a training environment
PROJECT – WAREHOUSE ISSUES
BACKGROUND
As this is a new facility, procedures and processes are still being put into place. After realising there was no method of booking issues that occur in the warehouse, I created an issues log to record any observed problems to ascertain if there were any issues showing a pattern that could be identified. From this, one may be able to come up with a plan that would prevent or reduce such events occurring in the future.
ISSUE
There were two issues where Fork Lift Trucks (FLTs) had collided with the upright roof supports.
1. 19 March 2013 : Plastic drain downpipe from the roof had been shattered due to a collision by a FLT – This resulted in a section of pipe needing replacement. The pipe runs down one of the roof supports.
2. Date unknown : A different roof support has been damaged, due to the nature of the damage, it is undoubtedly due to a collision by a FLT. Due to the minimal nature of the damage, it is not necessary to effect a repair.
PROBABLE REASONS
The nature of the organisation is that students are being trained on FLTs from ab-initio through to qualified FLT drivers. In the beginning they are obviously completely inexperienced and like most people learning to drive anything, concentration tends to be mostly on the controls rather than keeping a proper watch of their surroundings.
I observed several different groups of students being trained and could identify that this was indeed an issue and their instructors were continually telling them to maintain observation in the direction of travel as well as paying attention to the load and pivot points etc.
I also realised that as newly qualified drivers are required to sharpen their skills by driving the FLTs round the warehouse, doing practice picks, lifting and dropping loads thereby increasing their confidence and the speed they are able to perform their allotted tasks. These drivers, although they have passed their FLT test, are still
BACKGROUND
As this is a new facility, procedures and processes are still being put into place. After realising there was no method of booking issues that occur in the warehouse, I created an issues log to record any observed problems to ascertain if there were any issues showing a pattern that could be identified. From this, one may be able to come up with a plan that would prevent or reduce such events occurring in the future.
ISSUE
There were two issues where Fork Lift Trucks (FLTs) had collided with the upright roof supports.
1. 19 March 2013 : Plastic drain downpipe from the roof had been shattered due to a collision by a FLT – This resulted in a section of pipe needing replacement. The pipe runs down one of the roof supports.
2. Date unknown : A different roof support has been damaged, due to the nature of the damage, it is undoubtedly due to a collision by a FLT. Due to the minimal nature of the damage, it is not necessary to effect a repair.
PROBABLE REASONS
The nature of the organisation is that students are being trained on FLTs from ab-initio through to qualified FLT drivers. In the beginning they are obviously completely inexperienced and like most people learning to drive anything, concentration tends to be mostly on the controls rather than keeping a proper watch of their surroundings.
I observed several different groups of students being trained and could identify that this was indeed an issue and their instructors were continually telling them to maintain observation in the direction of travel as well as paying attention to the load and pivot points etc.
I also realised that as newly qualified drivers are required to sharpen their skills by driving the FLTs round the warehouse, doing practice picks, lifting and dropping loads thereby increasing their confidence and the speed they are able to perform their allotted tasks. These drivers, although they have passed their FLT test, are still
Links: TO REFERENCE DOCUMENTS www.nap.edu/openbook.php?reod_id=11814&pages=8 www.nap.edu/openbook.php?reod_id=11814&pages=11 www.nap.edu/openbook.php?reod_id=11814&pages=14 www.nap.edu/openbook.php?reod_id=11814&pages=15 www.safety-engineer.com/forklift.shtml www.hse.gov.uk/research/rrpdf/rr398.pdf