August 2017 IVES Update Newsletter

In this edition we'll be covering the following topics:

• Forklift Safety Veteran Al Rainsberger Passes Away on July 1, 2017.
• IVES Holiday Closure: Monday, September 4.
• Jury Awards $17M to Worker Who Lost his Leg in a Forklift Accident.
• Ask Bob: Our tech guru addresses a question on storing the operator manual.
• Company Fined $55,000 for Forklift Injury.
• Feature Article: No Excuses.
• Last chance to register!
• What's Wrong With This? Photo and answer.
• A selection of interesting articles.
• New testimonials from our wonderful clients.

But first, check out all the places we delivered training this month...

Forklift Safety Veteran Al Rainsberger Passes Away on July 1, 2017

Forklift safety veteran Al Rainsberger passed away last week (July 1, 2017) after a recent diagnosis of cancer.

Co-organizer of the Washington State Governor’s Forklift Rodeo Competition and City of Umatilla councilor Mark Ribich informed the committee and sponsors of his colleague’s passing on July 1st.

"Al had recently been diagnosed with cancer, and has succumbed to complications," he said.

"This was Al’s 20th year with the Governor’s Forklift Rodeo Committee, and he was chairman for all 20 years. He led the team from humble beginnings on a dock at Harbor Island to the main stage event for the annual Governor’s Safety & Health Conference.

His efforts kept the ever-changing volunteer team together, and resulted in year after year of growth and success for the forklift rodeo. Because of that effort, thousands of forklift operators and thousands more people that work around them are safer today. His passion for safety was incredible, only surpassed by his love for his family and friends."

Rainsberger’s safety achievements include his role as director of health and safety at Foss Maritime, where he overhauled the country’s largest coastal tug and barge company’s safety program, including streamlining its data-reporting process, the continued implementation and enhancement of its safety programs, and the establishment of regional safety committees.

Rainsberger had a long relationship with Seattle’s working waterfront. After graduating from high school and earning his associate’s degree, he spent just two quarters at the University of Washington before the shipyards began calling his name. Rainsberger went to work full-time for Todd Pacific Shipyards at the age of 22.

Tributes to the safety campaigner include former colleague Ken Gannaw who describes Rainsberger as the "best safety man Todd (Pacific Shipyards) ever had".

Skip Frombach says: "Those who have worked with Al at the helm of the safety department at Todd always felt like he had their back. There was a mutual respect for him in knowing that he experienced many of the common safety issues, first hand, as a fellow worker. Al is highly respected by his peers for his unwavering commitment to their safety. Thanks Al for keeping us safe ..."

Forkliftaction News has regularly reported on Al Rainsberger’s contribution to safety awareness through his role in the annual forklift rodeo organized on behalf of the materials handling committee of the Washington Governor’s Industrial Safety & Health Advisory Board and the Washington State Department of Labor and Industries.

Source: www.forkliftaction.com

Editorial Comment: Back when I joined up with the WA state forklift rodeo crew as its Chief Judge and Course Designer, Al was the first to welcome me with his big smile and friendly disposition. Ever the professional, Al always brought his A-game to the fore but also his wry sense of humor and ability to bring out the best in people, have a laugh and make things fun. I was and will always be proud to call Al Rainsberger my friend, he will be sorely missed.

Rob Vetter - IVES Training Group

Ask Bob IVES Holiday Closure

Please note that our offices will be closed on Monday, September 4 in observation of Labor Day.

 

Jury Awards $17M to Worker Who Lost his Leg in a Forklift Accident

A Riverside man who was severely injured in a workplace forklift accident in October 2013 that resulted in the partial amputation of his right leg has won a USD17 million verdict in a lawsuit against PennySaver USA.

The Press-Enterprise reports that Steven Meier, 62, was working as a security guard at the PennySaver facility in Jurupa Valley when he was struck by a reversing forklift. The court heard that the forklift crushed his right leg and dragged him for several feet, tearing the skin off his lower limb. A second forklift had to lift the first one off him.

After 11 surgeries, several infections and months spent in hospitals and nursing homes, Meier had to have his leg amputated below the knee in July 2015.

Jurors agreed that Meier was negligent for walking behind the forklift, but found his negligence was not a substantial factor in causing his harm.

PennySaver, which printed coupon booklets sent out weekly by mail across Southern California, fired all of its employees in May 2015 and soon filed for bankruptcy protection.

The USD17 million judgment will be paid in full, and the business’s insurer has agreed not to appeal.

Source: www.forkliftaction.com

Ask Bob

Q. If multiple forklifts of the same manufacturer/model/type are working on site, is each unit required to have an Operators Manual?

I requested a manual for one of our leased forklifts from a service technician who proceeded to tell me that OSHA does not require each forklift to have a manual, if there are like models on site(?).

It's my understanding that each unit is required to have a manual. Please clarify this question for me.

A. Mmmm, this is a good question and I have argued it both ways so let me put it out there for you and your company to decide at the end:
 
1. There is nothing that officially states that a forklift’s operator manual must be on the forklift but it does have to be readily available to the operator. Therefore, if you took one MOM (manufacturer operator’s manual) for each model and put them in a place and trained the operators where to find them at any given time that would be acceptable. In fact, we have a client that does just that and has passed many OSHA audits for VPP certification.
 
I have seen some Federal OSHA recommendations, not regulations, that advise keeping it on the machine, but since it is a recommendation it can't be cited. I have to say though, it’s never a bad idea to follow OSHA recommendations!
 
OR
 
2. Look where the MOM goes, most likely on the back of the seat. When it is removed, is there a decal or marking saying something like "if the operator’s manual is missing, replace immediately"? If it does, or if it is stated in the MOM to have it with the machine then it could be cited as a manufacturer’s requirement and enforced.
 
In short, having an operator’s manual on every machine is a good idea but it’s not an official OSHA requirement unless the manufacturer’s instructions say otherwise.

No Excuses

Operating a forklift without proper training is hazardous and possibly fatal to operators and/or other workers. This is a statement of fact that should not be breaking news to anyone reading this, particularly those that operate businesses that use forklifts. Most reasonably-minded people would agree with that and move on but I am bitterly disappointed to report that, in my experience at least, it is not the case.

Yes here we are almost twenty years down the road from the implementation of OSHA`s Powered Industrial Truck Operator Training Standard and other equally if not more stringent operator-related regulations across the US and Canada, and there are still many who are unaware, resistant, or worse, indifferent towards them.

As a trainer, I am programmed to be patient, approachable, and accommodating. However, in the context of this article I respectfully request your accommodation of my considered opinion on the matter, which is: if you operate a business that uses forklifts and are unaware of, resistant to, or indifferent toward operator training regulations in this day and age then you are incompetent, reckless, or criminally negligent. From my perspective, you should relinquish your position to those more capable and invested in creating and maintaining a safe workplace.

From the perspective of many regulatory enforcement officers and consultants I have worked with personally over my career, they would likely take a stance on the matter that goes beyond simple relinquishment of one’s position and skews toward measures that are a lot more punitive. In fact, their reaction to negligent employers often reminds me of a remark a police officer once made to me in relation to drunk drivers. I was graduating from high school and he had come there to give a speech cautioning us grads on the dangers of impaired driving. He said that after all the horrific scenes and tragedies created by impaired drivers that he had witnessed in his time, he had reached the point where he “hated” drunk drivers. In print here it really doesn’t have much effect but if you could have seen the look in his eyes as he spoke the words like I did all those years ago, the effect would be far more impactful and lasting.

Keep in mind that like police officers, regulatory officers investigate fatality scenes that are every bit as horrifying and tragic and I can assure you they have absolutely no sympathy for supervisors, managers, or employers that are not with the program. Likewise, when training I find myself having little if any time for those I encounter that choose to argue and rail against not only safety rules and regulations but it would seem the very concept of doing things safely. It’s just too late in the day to claim ignorance and frankly, I am no longer willing to put forth the effort needed to mount an argument in favor of safety with anyone that would expend an effort to argue against it.

Don’t misunderstand me. I will happily take the time with a would-be operator or forklift trainer to explain the benefits of safety and hopefully provide the motivation to be safe. But as soon as I get a whiff that operators, trainers, and or employers think the whole thing is just a big bunch of bulls$&t (their word not mine), they lose me as an ally. To them I say, for the sake of your own safety and everyone around them, don’t do it. To operators that means don’t operate a forklift, to trainers it means don’t take up training as a vocation and to employers it means, well - just don’t.

There are no excuses. It’s time to get with the program, or go away.

Rob Vetter
Director of Training
IVES Training Group

Company Fined $55,000 for Forklift Injury

BRAMPTON, Ont.—Ontario’s Concord Premium Meats Ltd. has been fined $55,000 for a forklift injury at its Brampton, Ont. plant.

The company, which also operates as Cucina Marcangelo Foods and Concord Premium Foods, faced charges under the Occupational Health and Safety Act in a Brampton court last month.

The incident took place in May 2013 and involved a shipper/receiver operating a walkie forklift.

According to the Ministry of Labour, the young worker was moving meat with the small forklift and collided with material being moved by a co-worker. The worker suffered a broken ankle during the accident.

After the trial, the company was found guilty of four offences related to failing to take the proper precautions to ensure worker safety.

The fine was handed down Aug. 2.

Source: www.canadianmanufacturing.com

Last Chance Programs

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What's Wrong With This? Photo

Can you tell what's going wrong in this photo?

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Answer to Last Month's WWWT? Photo

Here’s what Vertikal Net had to say about it:

Spotted during the set-up of the Iron Man competition and event in Majorca, the old fork and pallet routine.

What makes it worse is that a decent truck mounted lift was parked up on site doing nothing. In the words of our correspondent who had stopped by for a coffee and a ‘look see’: “I had a little wander down to the beach today for a coffee and crepe and to see how the Iron Man preparations are coming on and I am loathed to see the type of attitude to working at height from the installations teams. They are attaching the flags and lighting to lamp posts along the beach. A small RT scissor running along the walkway would have been far more appropriate and yet not 50ft from this photo a truck mount was parked up! Not sure it's a death wish but could easily be - given the forklift operator and distractions.”

It is amazing how installation teams on high profile events do stuff like this! The fact is that this sort of stunt goes on every day all over the world and the number of injuries from those the slip or fall from the pallets is ridiculous, with a number of them being fatal. Hopefully the organizers of Iron Man will sit up and take notice. Definitely one for our Death Wish series.

Source: www.vertikal.net

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Interesting Articles

$9 million verdict awarded to worker whose hand was crushed by a forklift...more.
Upgrading Your Warehouse: Top 6 Forklift Mobility Trends...more.
Firm fined $100,000 after worker is seriously injured from fall from forklift...more.
Worker sustains significant injury to legs when struck by a skid steer loader...more.
Worker killed as front end loader tire explodes...more.
Company fined $200K for failing to do routine maintenance on excavator...more.
Hydrogen powered forklifts inside Amazon and Walmart warehouses...more.
Man heralded for spotting runaway forklift on GO tracks...more.
Teen worker run over by forklift...more.
Workers rescued after nearly three hours in 90 degree heat atop an aerial lift...more.

 

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