Incident Investigation: Young Worker Falls From Forklift | WorkSafeBC
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- čas přidán 6. 07. 2024
- This incident investigation slide show recreates an incident where a young worker fell 13 feet off a forklift's platform onto a concrete floor. Using animation and photos from the incident site, it describes the events, underlying factors, and unsafe work practices that contributed to the incident.
This video shows the importance of using fall protection equipment, following safe work procedures and manufacturer’s instructions for equipment, and providing adequate training and supervision. Special care must be taken to orient, train, and supervise new and young workers in British Columbia.
Read the incident investigation report summary at www.worksafebc.com/en/resourc....
Timestamps:
0:00 Intro
0:22 Young workers in a warehouse
0:44 Difference between order picker & typical forklift
1:07 Inexperienced forklift operators
1:30 Wood shelving & boxes prevented order selector from getting close to racking
1:54 Unsafe plywood work platform
2:15 Not using fall protection
2:43 What went wrong?
3:19 How to prevent injury when using an order picker
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Sounds to me like management failure from start to finish.
lawsuit time
I was thinking the exact same thing. Too cheap to get them sent to be properly ticketed. Just a quick skim of the manual and you're "good to go".
@@lakerstekkenn she took off her harness so her and her family don't have a leg to stand on in court. totally her fault at that point.
@@ElectronicsForFun unless the family can prove that management created a work procedure that involved having to take off the harness. It's clear from this video they did, but you would have to prove that to get any money.
Well, sure you can blame everyone, but at the end of the day, the ONLY person that will keep you safe, is yourself.
I've walked out of places on my first day because they do stuff like this
Good for you! Never let anyone put you down for that. 👍
Me too. So many companies are run worse than a circus. You've clowns from the top to bottom.
Me too purdue chicken 10 mins
I hope you called OSHA on the way out.
@@alheadbme nothing would come of it
OSHA would flip their lids.
There should be no way a person should be operating any elevated order picker,cherry picker without a safety harness. they attach around your legs and around your person. those order pickers rock from side to side very easily.
yeah, this was a sketchy setup but since she took off the harness this is totally her fault. this was not caused by equipment failure, this was caused by a stupid decision she made.
@@ElectronicsForFun She had to take the safety equipment off to reach the order, and the poor organization of the shelves made it impossible to move the forklift close enough. This is at most 25% the worker's fault. If as an employer your setup makes your employees unable to BOTH use safety equipment AND do their jobs then the problem is with your setup.
let's get real here, elevated order pickers with contained cabs like what all non-broke warehouses with high density high altitude shelving do not need operator to be harnessed in. doing that is arguably less safe.
@@brianlacroix822 We use the normal order pickre with an actual metal buggy type of thing for tires. We need to be able to walk on the buggy to pick specific sets of tires. That type of lift is honestly necessary to the way our entire depot functions.
WorkSafeBC, I wanted to say that I have watched most of your workplace incident "breakdowns". As a 21 year old in the industrial maintenance industry I have seen all sorts of unsafe situations. Watching your videos gave me the push that I needed to begin taking courses to become a safety manager for my company! I want to try to end the stigma surrounding "the safety man" that has come from companies firing employees to limit liability instead of properly training the employees.
did you try?
I back and appluad your decision 1000% brother. I had to break bad on a "forklift instructor " today on my 4th day of work at a new DC for trying to rush us through the class. she was obviously jaded and complacent and had forgotten her "teaching" was potentially life saving for us as new employees. Not cool. But you bro. Very cool. Know that legitimate professionals appreciate you. It feels real lonely sometimes standing up for what is right but the ultimate boss🙏also sees your good work and you will be repaid and your keeping people from negligent death. Good for you bro💪💪
I strongly recommend that you expand your understanding of safety and help your company by studying and implementing the ISO 45001 standard for workplace health and safety. A key issue for safe workplaces is to involve workers in identifying and quantifying the severity of risks and how to mitigate them, thus making the "safety guy" a facilitator rather than an enforcer. You will need top management's full support.
@@richardengelmann7015 I hated safety guys who made us fill out this giant graph of all the hazards and their risks and mitigation processes. Identifying the hazards for sure, but it got complicated when they threw the other matrixes on there. I didn't go to safety school and didn't graduate high school.
Truck driver. But we were working for Shell, they had a massive safety budget which impeded absolutely everything we did with stupid forms, complete with incorrect information about road allowance and dimensions, but we had to suck it up and fill out their clown forms anyway even though they were b.s
So what I'm getting at, is an over zealous-let's make everyone a safety guy-safety guy usually turns people off. Figure how to implement safety effectively instead of boring and frustrating them. If they wanted to be safety guys they'd go into safety.
My opinion from someone who worked on the most poisonous natural gas well in north america at over 90% sour. I've deal with countless safety guys. And I do appreciate what they do effectively.
It was the Employer that failed here.
What happened to the worker, and what was the punishment for the company?
not really their fault since she took off her harness, at that point it's totally her fault. this wouldn't have happened if she left the harness on.
Electronics For Fun both their faults because apparently it wasn’t against the rules to take off the fall protection.
Also the way the shelves were built was already unsafe, they’re not supposed to be popping out into the aisle and the harness should be able to retract like most are, like seatbelts, they retract but if you pull too fast (like during a fall) they will lock.
proper training is key
@@ElectronicsForFun the company provided a makeshift work platform that required employees to remove their harnesses to use. They are certainly at fault here.
50% of people who fall from a height of two stories will die. My guess is the 50% who survive are not falling on the hard concrete of a warehouse floor. I have been driving these lifts for almost 15 years and there is nothing safe about them. You cannot say "drive safer" you can only say "drive less dangerously" when it comes to these vehicles.
The ones that die are probably the lucky ones.
@@millomweb ... only the lucky ones
Get to steal the show
Only the lucky ones
Really get to know
Only the lucky
My first job from 18-24 they literally handed the keys to the forklift on day one. You taught yourself how to operate it.
Same
It's an ongoing problem.
It's basically handing the keys to a car without providing driver's education and just leaving the youth to figure it out. People should care more about young workers, not neglect concern and education/training the second they turn 18.
and that's unfortunately how a lot of these cases end up happening. lack of experience and nobody willing to train them
"Proper training" is the gatekeeper. If they like you, and want to move you up, you're "properly trained".
Back when people were expected to have some sense!
Breaking every safety regulation that there is in a nutshell.
We never took the harness off but hell yea we would stand on the pallet in the air filling orders. I always was nervous and I never made quota when they sent me because my safety is more important.
I run picker trucks, and seven other types of lift truck. I'm OSHA certified and I'm a trainer. I train operators on this exact piece of equipment. You *can* walk out onto a pallet with your harness on and your lanyard connected. We do this all the time. Our lanyards are designed to allow for a 42" drop, and you can easily walk out onto the pallet--because the lanyard hooks to a rail at the back of the operator deck (as in: closest to the pallet). Given that the standard pallet dimensions are 48" X 40" there is plenty of room to walk out onto the pallet while picking/palletising an order WITHOUT removing your harness or unhooking your lanyard. That's the point of a picker truck. The operator who decided to take off the fall harness was stupid to do so, but this comes back to an absolutely abysmal level of training.
I too have driven these for years and yes, sometimes I've had to un-hook briefly to climb far enough into the back of the rack to move something. But I agree, normally there is no reason to un-hook standing on a normal pallet.
@@bdsman64 don't do that man pls
Okay guy..good conceited story bud 😅
@@bdsman64 yeah my lanyard wasn't long enough that usually meant I had to reposition my order selector. Even then if your landlord isn't long enough don't unhook. They clearly don't have the right equipment if you can't reach that far
Yeah them saying don't use a platform makes no sense, you use the pallet as a platform all the time while operating these things. You can only reach real small stuff from the cab area.
Our old company used to have these and would use cages on the forks. Shaky as hell and lifted us upwards of 40ft, or even higher to the ceiling of the warehouse to dust off the lamps or change bulbs. New company doesn't use this, it's extremely unsafe. They use scissor-lifts instead.
A scissor lift is the correct tool for that job.
I know I'm 4 years late, but I use one everyday. Know what you're doing and theirs absolutely nothing "unsafe" about it.
Another senseless tragedy. This young woman was just trying to do her job and do what was asked of her. Her work ethic essentially impacted her whole life. This is just sickening.
I hope she sues the racks out of that company for unsafe work practices.. Unbelievable!
Are you ensuring safe work procedures in your warehouse? Learn more about working safely with forklifts and order pickers: www.worksafebc.com/en/health-safety/tools-machinery-equipment/cranes-mobile-equipment/types/forklifts-materials-handling-equipment
As soon as you said two young employees and then added the modified pallet, I knew where this was going. It’s a real shame, for everyone involved.
I used these at different warehouses a few times. Absolutely hated them. Even with the harness, I didn't feel safe (I might have a slight fear of falling from heights NOW because of these pickers, even though I never fell from one). The warehouse pictured here looks exactly like the ones I used to work inside of. At one warehouse, a co-worker actually did fall from these. I don't know how high he was up (I didn't see the accident), but he survived. I never saw him without his harness on, so...
"the stage was set"
I am thinking I already know what "something else" sound the 2nd worker heard after lunch.
I injured my neck from looking back and going through the poor maintened uneven floor. Be safe
Safety first always
Although i'm terrified of heights, I drive one of these at work, among many other machines. Once you're elevated on this machine, they are actually quite shaky if you shift around even a little so i can't believe they were using this without a harness! I buckle myself into that thing SO tight. I never received any proper training from my employer for this machine, just a short explanation from another worker. It was a thorough enough though and matched with my natural inclination to be cautious with all the machines, I feel quite comfortable operating it throughout the warehouse.
yeah this is true. it shakes a lot when youre up high.
Been operating lifts for 26yrs now..The 1 lift I can operate..but won't tell nobody..Not climbing in nobody racks with a life rope on..knaw
Unfortunately common sense like yours isn't very common anymore :/
Only bad ones shak often. New/Well maintained OPs shake minimally at best and remember these things are 50 thousand+ pounds and aren’t going to tip from you being up there.
Use these at Lowe's all the time and youre absolutely right about the shakiness when your elevated up high. I dont like it much bc I involuntarily react when it sways and when you get nervous is when you overcompensate and/or overreact...thats usually when you get in trouble. However, Lowe's is incredibly strict about the safety harness...we can't so much as have the key at the on position without strapping that thing on...like it or not.
Mind blowing. Just mind boggling. Was there NO safety director employed at this warehouse? I worked in the manufacturing field for 25 years and we all, as in every employee whether they operated a high lift or fork lift or any type of machinery, went through safety training for every aspect of all jobs. We NEVER went even a couple of feet up without a safety harness on and if we did go up high (admittedly, we didn't have this particular type of lift) we did so on a conventional type of high lift with a specially cage that was specially designed to be picked up and lifted by the lift's forks and chained to the carriage of the lift to ensure 100% safety, and if anyone was caught not adhering to this they'd have been immediately written up. This is one hundred percent on management.
I used one of those stupid order pickers for 2 days in my one and only experience working in a warehouse. After getting almost no training on them, I was set loose with an 8,000-pound machine and told to pick 40-pound boxes of plastic sh*t off shelves as high as 30 feet off the floor. Even with a safety harness, I got extreme vertigo and felt unsteady doing it. Not to mention the foot controls made my left foot first go to sleep and then started damaging the tendons in it, from having to start and stop so much and having to brace myself with only my feet. Those things are awful.
This practice happens way more than one would realize
I'm actually certified on one of these and they must've not been tethered at all. These things are actually very safe and to get trained, you should be rigorously tested, so management fucked up hard and deserves a massive lawsuit
When someone nods and says "yeah yeah I understand". Trust, but verify. Make sure they know how the equipment works and will use it properly.
we have these at work. we have platforms that go on the forks, and our fall equipment is at a length you can safely use it. this is a company issue.
The harnesses and lanyards will have safety certification. The platforms on the forks have too - DON'T THEY !!!!!! If not, don't use them.
Sue the company that built the machine then sue the company that you’re working for the time of the incident what a dangerous device I’ve worked in the warehouse for over 37 years with racking and picking It’s a dangerous enough job of having a device like this in a warehouse
Anybody working at heights (in Australia at least) is required to be trained and certified to do so. Also a man cage with railings all the way around is required to work at heights as high as this as well as a fall arrest harness. If you think something isn’t safe, as an employee, you are always within your rights to say no - period. Sad that this happened.
I pray to God the woman is okay now 🙏🏽
3:00 That animation tho
Falling two stories , 14 feet is pretty much a guarantee your head will hit the floor even if you land on your feet. On concrete ? yea , bad news. I jumped off a 2 story once, landed and ended up with a mouthful of dirt and grass. . That ground comes up alot faster than jumping off on one story LOL. Lucky it was soft ground and grass , and I was 7 or 8 , and had those rubber bones. Don't try it.
What is the music playing in the background of this video? Artist amd song, please? It stood out, as I initially watched, toward the end of the video.
Chaz Qaasim "eighteen pieces (soda)" by soda. It was credited @ the videos end.
Why didn't they just get a longer rope for the safety harness?
Bruh what are you TALKIN about? The added distance made it difficult? You realize the safety harnesses they wear on those, extend, right? 1:40 you can even see the reel.
We use modified versions of these in the Home Depot that have an official extended platform, infact, ours are not used as "forklifts" at all - We call them Operator Platforms/OPs.
Because of the way the safety harnesses are mounted, there is NEVER a reason to take it off. This person just blamed the harness to get out of trouble.
If I recall correctly, the usage of a sturdy pallet is actually *intended* use of these machines, as well, in conjunction with the safety harness.
Nah I've seen a few with a harness that doesnt extend
You can't really move much outside the operator platform
I used to do this at the warehouse I worked at. I would stand with a foot on each fork and they would lift me up and have me change the lights. I was 16 at the time
How'd you land a warehouse job at 16 years old? Edit: Was it part-time?
dangerous jobs are sometimes not worth it.
So the blame game starts..
I used to work on one of those. Can't imagine falling off of one
The music is horribly depressing and reminds me of death
😀
Was he fired before he hit the floor
Wow you are kidding me. The manager who said this was okay for workers to do needs to go to jail.
Have you all seen the German forklift training video??
Where I work the harness tether is long enough to stand on the pallet platform and even long enough to walk on the racking however will catch you if you happen to fall
We don't have a pallet platform , we have a metal platform.
What happened to her in the end?
very informative
I would love having one of these, just to customize it with a built it bar.
I worked at many warehouses over the years, the management usually comes from warehouse workers whose only qualification is they've been there the longest, know how to kiss butt, and know how to sabotage more talented workers who are a threat to their position.
Unfortunately it takes a serious injury or death to weed these idiots out.
Couldn’t you extend the lanyard?
it is also very important to PAY ATTENTION TO YOUR SURROUNDINGS!
They have these at menards, or at least the one I worked at. They called them “joes” but I felt so
Sketch driving these with the amount of product we had on them. I was always scared it would fall forward when at the max height in the building.
I worked with a guy that would purposely sway back and forth while at full height
They're pretty stable
Why this still happening?
Because people dont stay attatch in all case
Damn amazon, they don't give you enough practice before getting on the floor, they only care about the work & will put your safety at risk if you don't catch on quickly. They dont put safety fully first they just act like they do! I hope she sued them mfs too !
Even the order selector looks a deathtrap
Es muy importante-20+ years in WH and have witnessed many situations.
Climb into the rack.... that’s what everyone does. You have a harness for a reason it’ll catch you if you fall.
Lawsuit.....
What’s the beat tho
Unfortunately this day & age the level of stupidity outweighs common sense for both sides management and employees.
3:01 Love the dramatization. Lol
I miss my old Yale OP. Only lift in the warehouse without a governor on it. Wind in the hair and shit. Then it would randomly code out and deadman itself at 9mph. Faceplant the screen... good times.
Or when you shift your foot too far on the deadman switch, same thing; face plant.
Get a pick stick!
I nearly rolled a forklift when I was 16. Didnt even have a car licence but they let me lift tons of shit with the forklift. I got cocky after a while, and started speeding around corners. I had that forklift up on 2 wheels one time, It was millimetres from tipping over and I pooped my pants. I was always very careful after that.
Same here.. I received training on a order picker but just like you I got cocky after a few weeks and one day I turned way too fast and the op almost tipped over 😂😂😂 I’m extremely cautious now tho
Haha for realz. Same , went a lil fast in a cherry picker like in the video. It was super fast AND had excellent brakes... lol one time in a mid turn I came to stop suddenly (wheel still angled) ... was a tall mast type, the weight of the sudden stop AND the wheel turned made the damn thing lift/angle up opposite of the turn for a split second but came back down.... after changing my shorts I vowed never to do that again lol. 🤓
Anyone know the music lol
What lanyard only extends to 4 feet? Assnine. I use ones that reach 8 at least which allows u to work around truck...
yeah mine too. 4 feet is not safe.
It seems they dind't even explain kind of the most important detail. What caused the fall. But, looking at the rig, and knowing my own experiences.. if she was trying to stand on the edge of the wood crate thing it would start to tip a bit possibly without the person realizing it was going to do that. But there's other things that could have happened.. such as.. if she had one foot on the racks and one on the wood thing, the wood thing could shift away from her by her own force somewhat. Because it can move side to side a bit on the forks.
Misophonia trigger alert
I tried counting the red flags here and I gave up long ago. Horrifying.
The order selector has a harness, the lanyard can be extended
this is completely insane . jesus christ
I use the Raymond Order Pickers at my job. Using them to pick items in narrow aisles are not bad at all for me since im close to both sides of the aisle but once I have to pick from pallets, its a hazard. I elevated up 27 feet with a cage hooked up to pick from a pallet only for the cage to legitimately lift the entire stack of items the one next to my designated pallet had. When i lowered it, i saw that it was hanging about a quarter off from the pallet which means anyone could potentially knock it over and get tipped over completely. Glad it wasn’t me
I'm a forklift operator. and I unload cargo off and on ships and in barges down on the port of new Orleans and I seen my share of accident crazy ones too make ya want to quit your job.......
Stupid people find ways to hurt themselves (or others) at any job, I saw a guy slice his arm open with a box cutter within 15 minutes of working his first shift...The stupid part was that this idiot wasn't even supposed to be using the box cutter until AFTER lunch break. He had no reason to cut himself.
@@daonlyone1017 your probably one of those coworkers who talk down and bully new people on the job big middle finger to people like you
That is really scary 😟 which is exactly why I don’t want to learn to operate a forklift
They're a fun challenge
Especially the big ones!
Why didn't that have a heavy gage whip attached to give them the distance
Amazon be like... Hold my beer.
Y’all don’t have harnesses ?
Did you watch the video? They took it off.
Gotta be forklift certified 😎
Sue the employer
Ive worked on one of these forklifts full time its tottally fucked !!
VNA aisle might have been safer
*WOW*
Why the hell am I watching these?
Maybe the CZcams algorithm suggested it to you
@@PraveenSrJ01 nope. I somehow found myself here
informative
On US Merchant Ships, this is posted everywhere: SAFETY FIRST
It sounds like that stupid harness needs to be longer . In the real world we don’t have options we just have to get it done or find another job
Damn, this reminds me of the source of my screws, rods (20, 4.2 cm) even with training, enen as a certified trainer.
I was going to do 1 cut, feet at about 2.5 meters, I hit the floor, 6 weeks later out of a Vancouver spine unit I just say, accident happen, so wear safety stuff every time.
I dont believe half of this stuff, I've been using an op for quite a while now and everyone I've used had an "extending" harness rope (idk what words you would use this for lol)
I always called it a "yoyo".
I worked at a place where is was high rise as in 60 foot up. Looking down throwing boxes on a pallet I was like ok here just don't fall off. I worked there for 3 months until they fired me for doing an unsafe act. Fuck the entire job was unsafe
It was only a matter of time when people fail to comply with safety measures.
Someone did not understand the triangle of stability concept.
Why so many dislikes?
"There is a lesson to be learned here...if you are lacking any degree of common sense do NOT by any means operate equipment or work at heights, you are already naturally high and dense so beware."
It’s all fun and games till OSHA hits you with a drug test
Only 13 feet? Sheeet - I'm on a triple-beam Crown unit. I'm up at the rafters, about 40 feet in height. You damn well know I'll be using my safety harness clipped in at that height. Plus, we use a metal cage that locks onto our forks. And, I was properly and rigorously trained to operate my machinery before I did any order picking. Did this woman live?
If the safety strap was hooked on the round bar at the back instead of the frame it wood slide side to side giving it length to reach the shelves and still be safe!
The manager just works there , figuring out how to save time.
The blind leading the blind
This accident is on the worker he disconnected from his PPE gear
10 year anniversary
How can this even happen? If there is a fall protection and the employee knows about it, why would he ever disconnect from the fall protection system? No person who uses his brain, would do that.
when you feel pressure to keep your job you will do many things you know are unwise. we as a society have decided employers have a responsibility to protect their employees. this seems especially relevant when you consider that the employee was young and this may have been her first experience with workplace hazards.
All ways wear the harness while on cherry picker!!!