Forklift Accident Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Forklift Accident - Article Example An accident occurred at the construction site of a light industrial building. A worker was driving a 3 ton forklift down a circular vehicle ramp from the fourth level towards the third level. There was no load on the forklift. The vehicle suddenly swerved and overturned on the third level and the worker who was driving the forklift was crushed beneath the vehicle and died on the spot. The driver had not undergone the mandatory forklift driver’s training course. Findings revealed that the forklift involved in the accident belonged to the main contractor and was poorly maintained. The driver was an employee of the plastering and bricklaying works contractor. The numbers of trained forklift operators were inadequate with respect to the number of forklifts. Also there was no risk assessment conducted on forklift operations.Another such accident occurred at a warehouse in a distribution park. A worker tallying stock stored on metal racks squeezed himself into the gap between two ra cks. A forklift driver was pushing racks closer together to make space for more racks. He did not see the employee, and the employee was crushed to death between the metal racks. If risk assessment had been carried out, forklifts and other workers would not have been allowed to operate in the area concurrently. It also seemed that there was inadequate safety training awareness among the employees.The key to preventing such accidents is training and enforcement of safety measures at places where forklifts are used.