Forklift Safety: Keeping Your Cool

Summer has just begun and already the mercury is peaking at mid-Summer temperatures and above- and if you’re in Arizona your days have been topping out in the hundreds for a month or two already.

Workers both on board a forklift and just getting things done around it need to be protected from extreme heat and cold.  In fact, OSHA demands it.

Since we’re mostly focused on the forklift and its operator and since it’s Summer- we’ll spend most of our time talking about keeping your operator cool.

You can start by enclosing the cockpit of the forklift, either with a heavy plastic cover, or with a fully-enclosed glass cab.  Combine this cover with a roof-mounted air conditioner and your only problem in the Summer months will be making sure the non-lift-operators don’t get jealous.

There are plenty of manufacturers who provide mountable fans that can be attached just about anywhere in the cockpit, and in lieu of air conditioning these will do the job just fine.

Combine a fan or two with a cooled seat cushion and your operator will be sitting pretty.

Even with these devices cooling your driver off, other measures need to take place for both your operator and your other employees.

Make sure your driver and other employees get regular breaks to cool off and drink water.  They may be tempted to take in energy drinks and other beverages that claim to replenish what the body loses when it sweats, but the bottom line is nothing is better than good old water for the cooling off.

Make sure your employees have somewhere air conditioned where they can go to cool off if they do start to overheat. Running your wrists under cool water can lower your core temperature as well by cooling the blood flowing through the ulnar artery.

Bottom line here, keep your workers cool at all costs.  Not only is it dangerous to ask them to work in unsafe extreme heat, but if someone goes down to the heat- that could get expensive.

Go ahead and fire your heat-related questions our way.  We can take it.