Forklift Hazards Focus Of Increased Enforcement At Industrial Workplaces

Ministry of Labour inspectors will look for hazards involving forklifts and other lifting devices during an enforcement blitz of industrial workplaces in February 2009.

The increased enforcement is part of the province's Safe at Work Ontario strategy, launched in June 2008.

Forklifts and other lifting devices, used to raise or lower material and objects, continue to be a significant cause of serious worker injury and deaths. These devices are commonly found in many industrial sectors in Ontario.

Thirteen workers died between 2003 and 2007 as a result of industrial incidents involving lift trucks, reach trucks, forklifts and tow motors, according to ministry statistics. During this period, Workplace Safety and Insurance Board statistics showed the average forklift lost-time claim resulted in 67 days lost from work.

In total, there were 10,308 forklift-related incidents where there was a lost time injury between 1996 and 2008, an average of 793 incidents a year, according to the data compiled by the Occupational Health and Safety Council of Ontario.

These incidents were due to a number of factors, including:

• lack of preventative maintenance and load capacity examinations;
• lifting devices striking objects during operation such as racking systems; and
• workers being struck by forklift trucks, other lifting equipment and improperly-secured loads.

Inspectors will take a "zero tolerance" approach to any contraventions found under the Occupational Health and Safety Act and its regulations.

Blitz Focus

Ontario Ministry of Labour inspectors will pay particular attention to industrial sectors where incidents most often occurred. These include:

• Retailers
• Wholesalers
• Transportation
• Automotive
• Wood and Metal Fabrication
• Food, Beverage and Tobacco
• Office and Related Services (employment agencies that supply non-clerical labour to industrial workplaces)
• Chemical, Rubber and Plastics

Ministry inspectors will also target workplaces:

• Identified as being high-priority due to possible lifting devices and forklift hazards;
• Known to have highly hazardous processes and equipment;
• Where complaints have been received; and
• Where there is a poor compliance history.

Priorities

Inspectors will focus on the following key priorities:

• Lifting Device Inspection and Maintenance:
  Inspectors will check to ensure employers are maintaining equipment in good condition to prevent mechanical or operational failures, undertaking repairs as necessary and examining lifting devices, according to legislated requirements, to determine their load capacity.
• Operation of the Lifting Device by a Qualified Person:
  Inspectors will check to ensure that workers having the training, knowledge and experience to operate lifting devices or, where workers are being instructed, that the workers are accompanied by a trained individual. Inspectors will review training records and question workers on their familiarity with the equipment being used in the workplace and possible hazards. It is the employer's responsibility to ensure workers operating lifting devices are up-to-date on required training.
• Safe Work Environment:
  Inspectors will ensure employers are taking every reasonable precaution to protect workers who are working in the area of forklifts and lifting devices. This may require the use of protective barriers, qualified signal persons, warning signs or other safeguards. Employers should conduct a comprehensive workplace assessment of vehicular and pedestrian traffic to determine the most appropriate safeguards to utilize in their workplace.

Safe At Work Ontario

Sector- and hazard-specific inspection blitzes are an important feature of Ontario's Safe At Work strategy. There is no acceptable rate of injury in Ontario workplaces.

That's why Safe At Work Ontario seeks to:

• improve workplace health and safety culture
• reduce workplace injuries and illness
• reduce the burden on the health care system
• avoid costs for employers and the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board, and
• provide a level playing field for compliant companies