With many variants of forklifts like the Combilift
Most of the systems have seamlessly integrated safety features like impact detection, speed limiting and even load weighing technology. As a result, newly manufactured forklifts have become one of the safest machines to use today.
However, while having the right equipment is crucial in ensuring employee safety; so is using the right personal protective gear. As such, here are four personal protective equipment (PPE) that any operator must have before operating or working around the forklift.
Protective eye gear
When operating large machinery like the forklift, the operator has vast responsibilities in ensuring the safety of himself and the people around him.
Wearing standard protective eyewear like damage-proof glasses or goggles protects your eyes from the various environmental hazards. If not careful, operators of the forklift or people working around such heavy machinery can get vision impairment.
Therefore, protective eyewear is a vital part of PPE that every forklift operator must-have before starting his or her tasks. When working outdoors, operators are exposed to environmental conditions like dust and wind – having protective eyewear shields in those situations you from potential injuries to your eyes.
Protective eyewear also shields operators when handling chemicals or other hazardous materials. Certain chemicals are deadly to our eyes and can cause serious vision impairment when they contact the eyes.
Steel capped boots foot protection
Be it a reach stacker or electric pallet truck, sometimes the weight of the forklift can get high depending on the lift capacity. This is due to the forklift trying to counterbalance its full weight to avoid tipping over when lifting its maximum capacity load.
Due to its immense weight, forklift operators and people within the area of the forklift operation should wear steel cap boots.
These steel-capped boots prevent and mitigate crushing injuries and fractures as a result of a forklift running over your foot or heavy load crushing on your foot.
Safety gloves hand protection
Forklifts are mechanical vehicles with moving parts that use grease and oil for smooth operation. During regular maintenance, the grease and oil applied on the forklift’s moving parts can get smeared onto the controls and steering wheel. When this happens, the operator could slip and lose control when trying to steer the forklift when it is carrying heavy loads.
To combat this, safety gloves should be used to help in protection against the residue of oil for a better grip. It is also essential when handling loads or supplies that are chemically hazardous to the skin.
Reflective clothes
Forklift operators must put on high visibility reflective clothes when on the job. The benefits of wearing reflective clothes include the following:
- Easy identification of operators when getting in or out of the forklift
- Easy identification of operators using the forklift at night or in areas with low visibility
- Ease in differentiating workers and forklift operators between pallets to reduce collisions and accidents.
Hence, only highly reflective and visible clothing should be worn. They also have to be of the right fitting since clothing that is too loose can be a safety hazard if they snag on controls or get caught in cabin doors.
Whether you’re operating forklift equipment within a warehouse or lifting materials to complete your road construction project – equipment wear always play an important role in keeping operators safe.
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