There are five main types of pallet jack operation that causes damage or injuries to freight or operators: The risks can be reduced by ensuring your team has had electric pallet jack training and manual handling training. Incidents caused by…
At the end of a shift, a pallet jack operator should make sure the pallet jack is placed in a safe area. If it’s an electric walkie, keys should be stored in a safe place. They can be a hazard…
Electric and manual pallet jacks have a load rating, just like forklifts. It’s essential that your operators understand how to read them and that they make sure in their pre-operation inspections that the load plate is present and readable. Every…
Pallet jack operators, whether it’s an electric pallet jack or a manual one, can move up to two tonnes at a time and, like any humans, they look for shortcuts. These might not be ‘best practice’, though, so we have…
Almost all pallet jack operators will be using the equipment on relatively flat, level ground, predominantly in a warehouse or store, but occasionally in a yard or on exposed docks. It’s important that operators understand the hazards and are aware…
Even though the humble pallet jack might be small, it can carry a surprising amount of weight – up to two tonnes in some cases. If it’s an electric pallet jack or ‘walkie’, these can be 300-400kg on top of…
To ensure that your vehicle is completely sanitised to reduce the risk of catching a transmissible disease such as COVID-19, follow these steps: When cleaning, you must wear gloves. A face mask and safety goggles must be used if working…
Every year, a large number of injuries are caused by pedestrians being hit by forklifts. As forklifts are extremely heavy, they can create fatal crush injuries quite easily. The best solution is to completely separate pedestrians and forklifts but this…
Excessive speed is where a driver exceeds the posted speed limit. For example, if the limit is 50km/h and the driver drives at 60km/h, this is excessive speed. Inappropriate speed is where the driver drives within the speed limit, but…
Every year, many drivers get injured due to getting out of and into their vehicles unsafely. If you jump from your cab, when you hit the ground, you’ll generate almost twice your bodyweight in force through your knees. It’s in…
Group riding on motorbikes can be fun, but it can also make riding more dangerous and frustrating. Group size Groups should be kept small and always make sure that all riders are at a similar level otherwise the slowest tend…
How do you improve the safety of your employee drivers? There are six main areas you can improve driver safety: Reducing distractions Improving driver health and fitness Eliminating drug and alcohol usage Improving awareness of dangers so that drivers drive to…
People who drive for work spend more time on the road in stressful situations while multitasking and therefore increase their risk of having an accident. In fact, according to NZTA and ACC, up to 25% of work vehicles will be…
How to create a safe driving policy Every company or entity that has employees, volunteers or contractors drive its vehicles or use their own vehicles directly for work purposes must have a safe driving policy. You can create your own,…
NZTA is introducing a new bright orange tape on Auckland’s motorways to help guide drivers through construction areas. It’s used in a continuous strip to help define temporary lanes. “The tape helps reduce the risk of an incident, particularly on…
