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It’s imperative that forklifts are operated as safely and as efficiently as possible to protect your employees from harm and to ensure operations run smoothly at all times. Where safe operation and adequate training is an essential component for overall forklift safety in the workplace, there are several forklift attachments and additions available to help enhance forklift safety, regardless of whether they’re stationary or in operation.
So what attachments and safety extras are available to you and what should you consider before committing to these additional forklift safety accessories? Multy Lift are on hand to help you determine what’s best for you, your employees and your business as a whole.
Safe forklift attachments & additions
Where forklifts will come with some of the following items as standard, many are optional and available from most forklift dealers, including right here at Multy Lift. So what does each one have to offer a forklift operator and why are they paramount to the safety of all when on your premises?
Seat belts
Forklift seat belts will come as standard today, much like with cars and other vehicles on the road. Similarly, seat belts are in place to save lives when onboard a moving vehicle and it’s never been more important to ensure seat belts are installed on your forklifts.
Many chassis are open and so it’s important that your workers do not fall from the forklift. Ensure that seat belts are worn at all times. They should be put on when entering the vehicle and only taken off when the forklift is no longer running and is stationary.
Backup alarms
All large, heavy pieces of equipment should have backup alarms fitted as standard. These should sound when, as suggested, a forklift is reversing in any direction. This warns pedestrians that the machine is on the move and that they should avoid the area until the forklift has cleared the area.
Guidance lasers
Guidance lasers should be used in premises where tight spaces and narrow aisles are something operators regularly come across. These restricted spaces can prove to be quite the challenge for forklift drivers and so, in a bid to ensure they’re manoeuvring the machine safely, guidance lasers can be used. It helps to guide the moving forklift to its destination without risking collisions with other machines or even people.
Blue lights
Regardless of the number of alarms or sounds your forklift makes when it’s in operation, they’ll be useless in particularly noisy environments. To ensure that everyone on the ground and passing machine operators is aware that a forklift is in operation, blue lights should be used as a visual aid and so should be relied on more than forklift alarms in loud, noisy settings.
Illuminated signs
Signs can be ignored if they’re not catching people’s attention to begin with. Signs that are highly-visible and even illuminated will be hard for pedestrians and other passersby to miss and so they should be relied upon more than unilluminated signage throughout your premises. Visual aids are often more effective than audible ones, so use this to your advantage when it comes to ensuring the safety of your workers.
Strobe lights
Strobe lighting is often placed at eye level to ensure that everyone who comes across it will see it. They’re a universal sign that indicates that people should be alert at all times when in that particular area as large, heavy pieces of machinery could be on the move.
Blind spot cameras
Forklifts often have odd dimensions which can make manoeuvring the vehicle extremely difficult and dangerous as a result as there will be several blind spots present. Installing specialised cameras that can eliminate blind spots is paramount for ensuring safe forklift operation at all times. Where this might not be a concern among seasoned forklift drivers, it’s important that everyone is given this particular aid to enhance safety overall.
Rubber mats, caps & cushions
Rubber mats in particular will help with extra grip and stability, especially when lifting or transporting stock around the warehouse. Caps are constructed using high-visibility yellow compounds that are also designed to be extremely bright.
This compound is bonded to a reinforced steel frame ensuring that they can be seen regardless of the time of day. The cushions, in this case, act as bumpers and these are attached using magnets that connect onto the forklift tyne carriage.
Reflective vests
These help all of your employees to be seen whether it be day or night. It’s paramount that these are worn at all times when in and around the premises. Again, this is a visual aid that’s highly-effective for identifying pedestrians and other forklift operators in the general vicinity. These reflective vests should be worn by everyone present in the warehouse, regardless of whether they work there or are a visitor to the workplace.
Questions to ask when implementing forklift attachments
It’s important that you’re choosing the right attachments for your business and your operations. The last thing you want to do is spend money on attachments and accessories that you might not need. Making sure you have the right safety accessories also helps to protect your workers from harm – another reason why it’s imperative that you’re choosing the right attachments for your warehouse.
With this in mind, there are a number of questions you should ask yourself regarding additional forklift safety or attachments for your business, including the following:
- Is it suitable for use with your existing forklift or fleet of forklift?
- Is it fit for purpose?
- Can the attachments or accessory be secured as safely as possible?
- Can it be connected safely?
- Is it fit for continued, regular and safe use?
- Have all of your operators been trained in its safe and efficient use?
Multy Lift are proud to have over three decades of experience in the material handling industry. In that time, we have provided countless customers with the warehouse equipment they need to get the job done. Whether you need new or used forklifts, reach trucks, order pickers or other specialist machinery, we’ll always be on hand to help. For more information about how we can guide and advise your warehouse today, or to discuss the forklift attachments we have available, get in touch with a member of our team – we’re always happy to hear from you.
