Worklife
Issue No. 2 - September/October 2001
hyster south targets managers to curb forklift danger
During the first 10 weeks of 2000, 10 Australian workers died in workplace accidents involving forklifts. The human tragedies had business consequences as well, for the employers involved.
Forklifts cause twice as many workplace deaths as all other mobile plant put together – that includes motor vehicles on jobsites.
The forklift sector is a low-margin business with many strong competitors. One of them, Hyster South, was formed two years ago when the long-established US-based company, Hyster, acquired Graham Harrison Forklifts as part of a program to build up a directly-owned retail network in Australia.
“Hyster relies on quality and reliability – there is a number of 10-year-old machines still going,” says Ken Wood, of Hyster South.
Ken believes he and his peers have an obligation to educate the marketplace: “We have identified one main theme – complacency.”
Haste, the need to maximise productivity, takes its toll on safe practice. Because the forklift is so familiar to workers, even trained drivers don’t observe safety precautions as thoroughly as they should.
Ken fears this inattention to detail could lead to unworkable legislation, such as a requirement for drivers to wear seatbelts; when busy, they may mount and dismount once a minute. Manufacturers may be required to make design changes to forklifts, which may not get at the root of a problem which is procedural.
Hyster South i...
