Forklift Operator Research Articles

The MSD Risk Assessment Among Forklift Operators as a Source of Data for Ergonomic Intervention—Comparison of Two Tools

Two different methods: REBA (Rapid Entire Body Assessment) and the revised Quick Exposure Check (QEC) were applied for the assessment of three jobs involving forklift truck driving. The application of MSD risk assessment tools was followed by ergonomic checklists analysis. The results were used for ergonomic intervention program. Although both methods shown their usefulness in the MSD risk assessment, QEC results were more specific, gave more detailed information about possible ways of ergonomic intervention and better showed the decrease of MSD risk as an effect of changes applied.

VR-Based investigation of forklift operator situation awareness for preventing collision accidents

Forklifts are among the machines involved with the highest levels of occupational fatalities. As many accidents involved with a forklift can be attributed to the low situation awareness (SA) of the operator, it is essential to understand the factors influencing a forklift operator’s SA for reducing forklift accidents, especially of collision type. Against this background, this research aims to investigate how a forklift operator’s SA about other people around can be influenced by the type of subtasks they are carrying out. In this research, a virtual reality (VR) environment is used as the experiment environment, in which subjects perform a series of subtasks, such as driving, turning, reversing, loading and unloading, with a VR forklift simulation model. A SAGAT—an established SA measurement technique based on a series of queries targeting Level 1, 2, and 3 SA—is used as the main method to collect data about subjects’ SA in the experiment. The analysis of the data reveals that a forklift operator is likely to have a reduced SA about the workers around when he/she is performing a loading or unloading task due to attention narrowing, which occurs when a person concentrates on a cognitively demanding task. The findings provide insights into how forklift operator SA could be improved through an SA-oriented safety training program and also how sensing technologies might assist forklift operators with maintaining a good SA.

Industrial Workers Perception of Reverse Motion Warning Devices on Forklifts

In the United States, forklift accidents account for one in every six workplace fatalities (Bostelman and Shackleford, 2010). Backup warning devices such as tonal alarms and blue safety lights are commonly used to alert pedestrians of approaching forklifts. The purpose of this research is to identify worker’s perception on the effectiveness of two configurations of backup alarm systems: the level of nuisance perceived of these systems; and the importance of having a forward motion warning system. Results of this study indicate no statistically significant differences in the level of satisfaction between facilities using tonal backup alarms and facilities that use both tonal backup alarms along with blue safety lights. Additionally, results of this study indicate that the majority of the pedestrians and forklift operators sampled are in favor of having forward motion warning devices installed on forklifts.

Lifting Standards

A vigilant approach is vital to ensure that forklift operators and pedestrians are kept safe while moving around the factory

HAZARDS IDENTIFICATION AND RISK ASSESSMENT OF PHYSICAL AND MECHANICAL FACTORS OF FORKLIFT OPERATIONAL IN PT SINAR INDOGREEN KENCANA AAC PRODUCTION AREA’S

Background: Forklift is one of the most used craning plane in the manufacture and logistics industry. The operational of forklift can cause fatality work accident. PT SIGK uses forklift in the daily production activities, so it is necessary to identify hazard and risk assessment. Purpose: This study was to identify and assess the risk of physical and mechanical hazard at every stage of forklift operation. Methods: The type of this research was descriptive observational research, the object of the study were potential hazard and risk of all forklift operation stages in the AAC production area, consisted of 4 stages which were initial inspections stage, operational preparation stage, operational stage and post operations stage. Results: The result showed that there were 25 hazards, which were 4 hazards at the initial inspections stage, 2 hazards at the operational preparations stage, 14 hazards at the operational stage and 5 hazards at the post operations stage. Initial risk assessment obtained 2 hazards with high risk level, 22 hazards with medium risk level and 1 hazard with low risk level. The most prevalent hazard controls performed by PT SIGK were administrative (SOP, for klift training, safety sign) and PPE (helmet, gloves, mask), the controls got the value of effectiveness between 50% to 75%. Residual risk assessment, obtained 5 hazards with medium risk level and 20 hazards with low risk level. Conclusion: Additional control should be done by the company to reduce the residual risk level of medium category to be low, if the control recommendation is implemented well then the overall level of residual risk with low category will be obtained.

PENERAPAN PROGRAM KESELAMATAN KERJA PADA FORKLIFT DI PT ALP PETRO INDUSTRY

Forklift is one of lift and transport aircraft that support the implementation of the production process which consist high enough of hazards, and there is a possibility of work accidents. So the prevention efforts should be made with fulfill their safety requrements, to prevent that accidents.The purpose of this study were learning the programs of health and safety of the operation forklift in PT ALP Petro Industry Gempol, Pasuruan. This study was an observational descriptive study with cross-sectional approach. The subjects were all of the forklift operator, safety officer and supervisor, and factory general supervisor.The variables were studied were license of safety, safety tools, housekeeping, maintenance, inspection, safety sign, and wearing personal protective equipment.The primary data were obtained by using observations and interviews, and the secondary data were obtained from the company. Furthermore, the data was processed descriptively. The results showed that there are six programs have been implemented in accordance with applicable regulations, and there is oneprogram that hasn’t been accomplished in accordance with the relevant regulations that safety signs. Keywords: safety programs, forklift

Risk factors for neck pain among forklift truck operators: a retrospective cohort study

BackgroundNo previous research has been performed into neck pain among forklift operators. This is a common complaint among these workers, who number around 150,000 in Sweden and six million in Europe. The aim of the study was to examine long-term exposure to unnatural neck positions among forklift operators as a risk factor for neck pain.MethodsA retrospective cohort study was conducted of all eligible employees at a high-level warehouse. Forklift operators and office workers answered an 18-page questionnaire comprising questions about joint pain, work tasks, work postures and year of start for all items. By using person years in the exposed and less-exposed groups before start of neck pain we were able to calculate Incident Rate ratios for various exposures.ResultsForty nine percent of the forklift operators reported having experienced neck pain compared to 30 % of office workers. Being a forklift operator was associated with an increased risk of neck pain (OR = 5.1, 95% CI 1.4–18.2). Holding the head in an unnatural position resulted in significantly increased risks for neck pain, irrespective of type of position. The risks for neck pain remained after taking other ergonomic exposures and psychosocial aspects into consideration.ConclusionsThis is the first published study showing that forklift operators have an increased risk of neck pain. The results are therefore of significance for improving work schedules, the adjustment of work tasks for these workers and the design of the vehicles.

Forensic Engineering Analysis of Unintended Movement of Powered Industrial Trucks

Unintended movement of powered industrial trucks after operators have left the operating position has led to serious — and sometimes fatal — accidents. Even though operators are trained to prevent unintended movement of powered industrial trucks, they can forget to shut off the power source or activate systems to prevent the unintended movement when leaving the truck. Operators are known to make mistakes, especially if they are working in a fast-paced environment and are required to frequently leave the trucks. Engineershave designed electrical interlocks and other systems (e.g., automatically applied parking brakes) to prevent unintended movement; however, not all powered industrial trucks are equipped with them. Furthermore, some of these systems only disconnect the power source from the truck’s drivetrain. These trucks can continue traveling due to their initial momentum or by gravity if the truck was left on a slope. The purpose of this paper is to address the design of forklift operator presence detection systems and unintended movement of unoccupied forklifts through a safety and forensic engineering analysis, highlighting a brief case study to examine the concept of use and foreseeable misuse — and to review the legal concept of strict product liability.

Hazard Identification and Risk Assessment of Health and Safety Approach JSA (Job Safety Analysis) in Plantation Company

Plantation company needed to identify hazard and perform risk assessment as an Identification of Hazard and Risk Assessment Crime and Safety which was approached by using JSA (Job Safety Analysis). The identification was aimed to identify the potential hazards that might be the risk of workplace accidents so that preventive action could be taken to minimize the accidents. The data was collected by direct observation to the workers concerned and the results were recorded on a Job Safety Analysis form. The data were as forklift operator, macerator worker, worker’s creeper, shredder worker, workers’ workshop, mechanical line worker, trolley cleaning workers and workers’ crepe decline. The result showed that shredder worker value was 30 and had the working level with extreme risk with the risk value range was above 20. So to minimize the accidents could provide Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) which were appropriate, information about health and safety, the company should have watched the activities of workers, and rewards for the workers who obey the rules that applied in the plantation.

An environmental life cycle assessment of forklift operation: a well-to-wheel analysis

Among the many publications on the environmental life cycle assessment (LCA) of transport, there are only a few examples of works dedicated to means of internal transport. For this reason, it was decided to gather energy-oriented inventory data and to assess the environmental impact related to the operation of selected forklift trucks, as the most commonly used means of internal transport. This paper presents the main assumptions and the results in relation to the four phases of LCA: the goal and scope definition, the life cycle inventory, the life cycle impact assessment results, and the interpretation. Ten forklifts with different engines were selected in order to carry out the life cycle assessment study. The research was based on the results of measuring the operating fuel consumption and exhaust gas emissions, conducted using the SEMTECH-DS mobile device from the PEMS group of devices. In order to make the measurements under a circumstance close to the real conditions of forklift exploitation, it was decided to slightly modify the operating cycle proposed in VDI 2198. The environmental impact of the fuel/electricity usage and exhaust gas emissions was assessed using the ISO 14040x guidelines and the IMPACT 2002+ method. The study showed that using an electric forklift to transport 1 t of payload over a distance of 1 km has a significantly smaller environmental impact than using one of the selected forklifts powered by an internal combustion engine. Using forklifts powered by liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) engines leads to a significantly higher environmental impact whilst the use of vehicles with diesel engines has an impact at a level several times lower. In a case of drives without load, where functional unit was defined as covering 1-km distance with no vehicle load, a lower impact for the electric vehicles was also obtained. The analysis includes the influences of the upstream processes of fuel and electrical energy production. Even when Poland’s production scenario (based almost entirely on fossil fuels) is taken into consideration, the electric forklifts still show a clear advantage. It should be expected that, if the technological mix of electrical energy production for countries with a higher share of renewable or nuclear energy were to be taken into account, the environmental indicators for electric vehicles would be even lower. It is worth noting that only the energy aspects of forklift operation were analysed. Further studies aiming to collect inventory data relating to other exploitation aspects, as well as the production and utilization of the same vehicles, are planned as a continuation of this research.

Uso do Self-Reporting Questionnaire (SRQ-20) para determinação dos sintomas físicos e psicoemocionais em funcionários de uma indústria metalúrgica do Vale do Paraíba/SP

Resumo Introdução Sintomas como insônia, fadiga, irritabilidade, esquecimento, dificuldade de concentração e queixas somáticas podem sinalizar a existência dos transtornos mentais comuns (TMC). Rastrear e prevenir a integridade da saúde mental dos trabalhadores se faz necessário atualmente. Assim, objetivou-se investigar a associação dos TMC e as variáveis idade, trabalho em turnos e função desempenhada em funcionários de uma indústria metalúrgica do Vale do Paraíba, interior de São Paulo. Método Utilizou-se a versão brasileira do Self-Reporting Questionnaire (SRQ-20). Foram avaliados 77 funcionários (idades entre 20 e 50 anos, média de 35±6 anos). Resultados O segundo turno obteve maior frequência de afetados, com 72%, e na faixa etária entre 33 e 34 anos, com 22%. Entre as variáveis associadas ao humor depressivo-ansioso, verificou-se que a maioria sentia-se nervosa, tensa ou preocupada. Para os sintomas somáticos, a maior parte relatou dores de cabeça frequentes. Quanto ao decréscimo de energia vital, cansar-se com facilidade foi o componente mais influente. Avaliando os pensamentos depressivos, a maioria perdeu o interesse pelas coisas. Evidenciou-se que os ajudantes (31%) e os empilhadeiristas (40%) eram os mais afetados. Conclusão No presente estudo, o SRQ-20 foi eficaz em avaliar os TMC para rastreamento da saúde mental em âmbito ocupacional.

Analysis of Stand-Up Forklift Operator Injuries in Off-the-Dock and Tip-Over Incidents With a Latched Door on the Operator Access Opening

A series of tip-over and off-the-dock impact tests were performed with stand-up forklifts to investigate the potential for injury to the operator of a forklift in these types of accidents, when the forklift is equipped with an operator’s compartment door. One Crown Equipment Company 35RRTT Model and one 35RCTT Model stand-up forklifts were used in the impact tests. The only modification to the forklifts for the tests was the placement of a door on the entrance to the operator’s compartment. A Hybrid III anthropomorphic test device (ATD) was placed in the operator’s compartment as a human surrogate. During each test, head accelerations, chest accelerations, neck loads, and lumbar loads were measured on the ATD. The motion of the forklift and the ATD were filmed with real-time video and high-speed cameras. Results from the impact tests indicate that there is a high risk of head injury in a right-side tip-over accident and a high risk of head injury and neck injury in a left-side tip-over accident. There is a high risk of a head injury, neck injury, and thoracic injury in off-the-dock forks-trailing accidents. In an off-the-dock forks-leading accident, there is a high risk of arm/shoulder injury, head injury, and neck injury. In both tip-over and off-the-dock forks-trailing accidents, there is a high probability of an entrapment injury under the overhead guard on the forklift.

The Field of Logistics Warehouse Layout Analysis and Research

Logistics warehouse layout problem in circulation is one of the issues the enterprise concerned; storage as a logistics hub for transport links plays a role in the protection of stored products. During storage planning, in order to design a reasonable layout of warehouses, companies must consider seasonal product, quantity demand characteristics and the treasury itself highly characteristic and so on. Handling the number of products and their performance, will certainly affect the design of the warehouse place; at the same time, with seasonal variations, warehouse receipt must not only be able to accommodate the capacity of the warehouse area and height for design, but also consider that forklift and artificial operation need some work area, and it cannot affect normal operation of the product by placeholder area.

Enhancing the management of shared inventory in the steel industry using RFID: an alternative to bar codes

An inventory problem of a company that specializes in cutting steel coils into rolls and sheets of steel is addressed in this paper. Rolls and sheets of steel require a high level of customization depending on the specifications by the end user. This causes complexity in the management of finished goods, mainly due to the wide variety of dimensions of the rolls and sheets that are in the storage area. Due to the great variety of products built for stock, it is not possible to define a specific location in the storage area to place a product. For a company located in Mexico, recent data show that the percentage of obsolete inventory (items stored more than 90 days) is 7 %. The objective of this work is to reduce this percentage to 0 %. From a time study, it was learned that searching for finished inventory averaged 15.5 min. This activity consumes a large amount of the available forklift operator time. This means that in situations during which the forklift operator is pressed for time, it may be necessary to abandon the search for the correct finished products in the storage, and instead ship products of more recent production. Over time, the repetition of this event generates increased rates of obsolete inventory. The proposal to solve the problem was to reduce the search times through the implementation of a system that identifies inventory using RFID technology. This will improve the quality of the stored information, and therefore reduce the rate of obsolescence.

Musculoskeletal Discomfort Analysis in Forklift Operations

Although forklifts are well suitable for lifting and moving the goods, there are factors that cause musculoskeletal disorders to the forklift operators, such as severely twisted postures, prolonged sitting and poorly designed workplaces ultimately leading to low productivity. The main objective of this study is to analyze subjective evaluation of musculoskeletal discomfort assessed by the forklift operators using the Cornell musculoskeletal discomfort questionnaire. A total of 47 operators aged between 20-58 years who are driving six types of forklifts in a heavy equipment manufacturing industry were selected for this study. The study revealed that forklift operators felt most of the musculoskeletal discomfort at lower back (65.45%) and in the neck (13.03%). Discomfort was less pronounced in the left upper arm (0.02%) and in the left lower leg (0.03%). Specifically, the results revealed that 40 out of 47 (85.11%) forklift operators sensed discomfort in the lower back 1-2 times per week; 41 out of 47 (87.23%) forklift operators reported discomfort was moderate and above. Because of this, 22 (46.8%) and 16 (34.04%) operators respectively have felt slight and substantial level of discomfort that has an effect on their ability to work.

Forensic Engineering Evaluation and Testing of Horizontal Intrusion Protection Equipment for Stand-Up Forklifts

In 2004, a report issued by the National Institute of Occupational Health and Safety (NIOSH) evaluated a fatal stand-up forklift accident where a warehouse forklift operator was crushed against a rack beam after it intruded into the operator’s compartment. One of the recommendations of the report was that “Manufacturers of stand-up reach forklifts should include vertical framing or posts at the rear corners of their machines, from the operator’s console to the overhead guard, to protect the operator from horizontal components entering the operator’s station 1.” Other published studies have also recognized the risk associated with the hazard of a horizontal rack beam entering the operator’s compartment of a stand-up forklift. It has been previously reported that there have been at least 250 incidences of horizontal intrusion as of June 2008 2. The ANSI B56.1 “Safety Standard for Low Lift and High Lift Trucks” has recognized such guarding as permissible since 1993, and almost all stand-up forklift manufacturers have made such guarding standard equipment. The evaluation that is the subject of this paper is related to the fatal horizontal intrusion incident involving a stand-up lift truck (forklift) operated by a 44-year-old male.

A Situationally Aware Voice‐commandable Robotic Forklift Working Alongside People in Unstructured Outdoor Environments

One long‐standing challenge in robotics is the realization of mobile autonomous robots able to operate safely in human workplaces, and be accepted by the human occupants. We describe the development of a multiton robotic forklift intended to operate alongside people and vehicles, handling palletized materials within existing, active outdoor storage facilities. The system has four novel characteristics. The first is a multimodal interface that allows users to efficiently convey task‐level commands to the robot using a combination of pen‐based gestures and natural language speech. These tasks include the manipulation, transport, and placement of palletized cargo within dynamic, human‐occupied warehouses. The second is the robot's ability to learn the visual identity of an object from a single user‐provided example and use the learned model to reliably and persistently detect objects despite significant spatial and temporal excursions. The third is a reliance on local sensing that allows the robot to handle variable palletized cargo and navigate within dynamic, minimally prepared environments without a global positioning system. The fourth concerns the robot's operation in close proximity to people, including its human supervisor, pedestrians who may cross or block its path, moving vehicles, and forklift operators who may climb inside the robot and operate it manually. This is made possible by interaction mechanisms that facilitate safe, effective operation around people. This paper provides a comprehensive description of the system's architecture and implementation, indicating how real‐world operational requirements motivated key design choices. We offer qualitative and quantitative analyses of the robot operating in real settings and discuss the lessons learned from our effort.

Methods for improving visibility measurement standards of powered industrial vehicles

Poor visibility of powered industrial vehicles, such as forklifts, used in industry is often the cause of accidents that include pedestrians. Current standards allow up to 20% non-visible regions for forklifts where measurement of these regions is performed by using lamps. A collaboration of research organizations, including National Institute of Standards and Technology, Georgia Institute of Technology (NIST), and Direct Dimensions, has been evaluating advanced methods for measuring a forklift operator’s visibility. These methods can potentially improve visibility standards. They can also aid forklift and sensor manufacturers to (a) perform different facets blind spot analysis without requiring extensive and time consuming infrastructure set up (b) develop techniques to efficiently utilize visibility-assist sensors and (c) find the optimal location where worker-on-foot or obstacle avoidance proximity detection and avoidance sensors or alerts can be mounted on forklifts. This paper includes explanation of visibility measurement experiments performed and results, associated language suggested to standards organizations, and a prototype design for measuring the visibility of forklifts automatically.

Forklift Operator's Elbow: Atypical Ulnar Neuropathy Presentation from Cumulative Overuse and Sub-par Workspace Ergonomics: A Case Report

Forklift Operator's Elbow: Atypical Ulnar Neuropathy Presentation from Cumulative Overuse and Sub-par Workspace Ergonomics: A Case Report

Accidents in masonry construction: The contribution of production activities to accidents, and the effect on different worker groups

Masonry is a construction trade with high risk of work-related injuries. This study analyzes 141 recordable incidents that occurred over a period of 3years in a large masonry company. The incidents were analyzed from three perspectives: First, they were analyzed with respect to the nature of events (falls, overexertion, etc.). Second, the analysis examined the production activity that the injured worker was performing. Third, the incidents were analyzed according to the injured workers’ position in the crew – that is, foreman, masons, laborers, and forklift operator. The findings first identify the contribution of the different masonry activities to different types of safety incidents. Three activities – scaffold erection and dismantling, laying block and material handling are responsible for most of incidents and consequences in terms of days away from work and days with modified task. Next, the findings identify the frequency and severity of incidents for the different workers’ positions, and the high incident activities for each worker role. The results indicate that the laborers have significantly higher accident rate compared to the masons. The study identifies two new areas of priority for reducing accidents in masonry construction: improving the process of scaffold erection and dismantling, and focusing on reducing laborers incidents. Finally, analysis of incidents by production activities and personnel position is an effective way to identify operations and worker groups that need to be targeted for improvement. Thus, it is strongly recommended that the contractors’ incident reporting mechanism captures that information.