Tomorrow Is National Forklift Safety Day!

Tomorrow thousands of industries and businesses nationwide that rely on forklifts will participate in an event designed to raise awareness of forklift safe practices.

Tuesday’s third annual National Forklift Safety Day is sponsored by the Industrial Truck Association. Businesses throughout the US are encouraged to set aside time to talk about forklift safety, highlight best practices, and engage line level forklift operators and other workers in a dialogue about how to reduce forklift accidents, injuries, and deaths.

What’s Going On

Even forklift manufacturers are getting into the action.

Clark Material Handling Corporation will host a community-wide forklift safety  event Tuesday at its headquarters in Lexington, Kentucky. Scheduled events include an open house, plant tours, a flag-raising ceremony, and a forklift rodeo competition, according to a Clark news release. There also will be safety demonstrations., said Dennis Lawrence, the company’s president and CEO.

While National Forklift Safety Day calls attention to the importance of maintaining the highest safety standards while operating forklifts and other heavy equipment, companies should be focusing on these issues all year round, said Dennis Lawrence, the company’s president and CEO.

“Forklift safety is not just a one day per year focus,” Lawrence said. “At Clark, forklift safety is out top priority every day. We are proud to join with the ITA and our fellow forklift manufacturers to raise awareness about the safe use of forklifts and the continual need for operator training.”

Other National Events

In recognition of National Forklift Safety Day, the ITA will sponsor an event tomorrow at the Hyatt Regency Hotel on Capitol Hill, in Washington, D.C. The event will feature speakers from the US Occupational Safety and Health Administration — the federal agency responsible for implementing forklift safety rules in workplaces nationwide — as well as from the National Safety Council.

The chairman of the Congressional subcommittee that oversees OSHA and key industry representatives also are expected to participate.

Focusing on Forklift Safety

The first National Forklift Safety Day was held in 2014, but forklifts themselves have been an important part of the industrial and commercial landscape since 1917. Since then, annual sales of forklifts in the US tops 19,000 vehicles.

“This special day provides an opportunity for the industry to educate customers, the public and government officials about safe forklift operation,” stated an ITA news release announcing details about the event.

Every organization that uses forklifts is encouraged to set aside time on National Forklift Safety Day to discuss forklift safety and review proper procedures for safely using the vehicles. The idea is that if as many businesses participate as possible on the specific day set aside to discuss forklift safety, then there could be fewer accidents involving forklifts the rest of the year.

 

Forklift safety is mandated by laws, regulations and guidelines, but there’s more to it than that, according to the ITA.

“It comes from knowing and following them,” the ITA stated. “In other words, it comes from awareness and commitment. National Forklift Safety Day is about enhancing our awareness and renewing our commitment to forklift safety.”