Dangerous situations between forklift and pedestrian, risk factors and options to reduce them

The forklift is an essential lifting equipment for moving, transporting and transferring more or less heavy loads in a factory or a large storage area. Although essential to speed up work and optimize employee performance, they can be dangerous in the absence of specific provisions for their use. In particular, you must take into account the pedestrians who come and go and whose behavior can sometimes be unpredictable.

Risk factors that should not be overlooked

Diverse causesThe causes of serious accidents related to the use of a forklift are numerous. At the top of the list are the lateral reversal and the collision of a pedestrian. It should be noted that risk factors are varied and can differ dramatically from one environment to another. There is therefore no typical situation. This is possible in the event of poor organization of work, poor knowledge of the premises, lack of awareness of risks, non-compliance with rules or even a lack of visibility on site.Unpredictable pedestrian behaviorPedestrians who may end up in the vicinity of a forklift truck may come from different locations and departments within the company. It can be not only construction personnel, but also office workers. There are also external people such as customers and visitors. For these various reasons, pedestrians do not necessarily pay attention to what is happening around them, especially the traffic of forklifts. The risk is all the greater for people who are not at all familiar with the place where they live. In any case, it is still possible to anticipate, prevent and limit all these risks as much as possible.

How can you reduce the risks associated with the use of forklifts?

Above all, you should know that there are standards, regulations and laws that govern the use of forklifts in order to prevent accidents. At the same time, rules must be clearly established to regulate all pedestrian traffic. So here are a series of measures that could be applied:

• Prohibition of access to traffic areas when an operator maneuvers a forklift through a light signal or a no-pass cord;
• Separate cart traffic areas and pedestrian traffic areas in case of unavoidable cohabitation;
• Establishment of clear traffic rules for trucks: speed; mandatory stop at dangerous areas (intersection, turn...); movement signal (recoil...); acoustic or visual signal; Etc;
• Establishment of clear traffic rules for pedestrians: respect for authorized traffic areas; respect for priorities; specific training for pedestrians who have to intervene in the vicinity of a trolley...;
• Installation of protective barriers.

In the end, it is therefore a real education for employees and pedestrians. In addition, investing in accessories to secure carts and people around is also very practical.