Forklift and Lift Truck Safety
Survey: Fatalities
Survey: By Industry
Survey: By Accident Type
Stability of Powered Industrial Trucks
•
•
•
•
Stability Triangle
Longitudinal Stability
Lateral Stability
Dynamic Stability
Stability Triangle
B
Vehicle Center of
Gravity (Unloaded)
A
C
Center of Gravity
of Vehicle and
Maximum Load
(Theoretical)
Notes:
1. When the vehicle is loaded, the combined center of gravity (CG) shifts toward line B-C.
Theoretically the maximum load will result in the CG at the line B-C. In actual practice, the
combined CG should never be at line B-C.
2. The addition of additional counterweight will cause the truck CG to shift toward point A and
result in a truck that is less stable laterally.
Stability Triangle
Load CG
Load CG
Vertical
Stability
Line
(Line of Action)
Combined CG
Combined CG
Truck CG
The vehicle is stable
Truck CG
Vertical
Stability
Line
(Line of Action)
This vehicle is unstable and
will continue to tip over
Forklift Fatality
• On July 24, 2004, a 19-yearold laborer with 8 days
mining experience was
injured at a crushed stone
operation. The victim was
operating a skid steer loader
to clean spillage around the
plant. He was found caught
between the tilt cylinder
assembly and the top front of
the operator's cab. The
victim was flown to a
hospital where he died on
August 6, 2004.
Forklift Fatality
• On October 1, 2003, a 39year-old laborer/operator,
with 4½ years experience,
was fatally injured at a
surface dredge operation.
The victim was using a
forklift, near the edge of a
dredge pond, to relocate the
dredge's high voltage cable.
He drowned when the
embankment sloughed off
causing the forklift to tip in
the pond.
Forklift Fatality
• On September 1, 2003, a 20year-old laborer, with 1½
years mining experience,
was fatally injured at a
surface dimension sandstone
mine. The victim was
operating a fork lift when he
lost control and overturned
while traveling on a mine
roadway.
Forklift Fatality
• On December 9, 2002, a 48year-old delivery truck driver
was fatally injured at a
potash operation. The victim
parked his truck at the
warehouse and was
gathering the slings that had
been used to secure the rolls
of conveyor belt to the flat
bed trailer during transit. As
a forklift was being used to
unload a roll, it accidentally
dislodged another roll from
its wooden cradle. The
victim was struck by the roll
as it fell from the flat bed
trailer.
Forklift Fatality
• On May 5, 2001, a 58-year old
mechanic (contractor
employee) with 3 days mining
experience was fatally injured
at a dimension stone operation.
The victim was preparing to
perform maintenance on the
front wheel of a skid-steer
loader. He had extended the
boom to the full raised position
and disconnected the pressure
side hydraulic line for the
boom. The sudden release of
hydraulic pressure caused the
boom to fall, pinning him
against the ground.
Forklift Fatality
• On Tuesday, March 21, 2000, a
forklift operator was fatally injured
in a surface haulage accident. The
operator of the forklift was traveling
on the Scale House road to a storage
building to pick up an electric
motor. The forklift apparently
slipped off the shoulder of the paved
roadway which had a 9" drop to the
gravel shoulder area. When the
operator attempted to maneuver the
forklift back onto the paved
roadway, the forklift slid sideways
and rolled over pinning the victim
between the front left post of the
falling object protection and the
asphalt roadway.
Forklift Fatality
• On December 2, 1996, a
mechanic with 9 years of
mining experience was killed
at a limestone quarry. There
were no witnesses to the
accident. The employee was
in the process of repairing a
skid steer loader and was
crushed when the bucket arm
on the loader came down on
him.
Forklift Fatality
• On September 13, 2000, a skid loader operator, age 28, was fatally
injured as he either leaned over in the seat or attempted to exit the skid
loader and accidentally activated the controls, causing the bucket to
lower and pin him between the cross-bar member of the boom and the
frame structure.
• On July 19, 1997, a front-end loader operator, with 1 year of mining
experience, was fatally injured at a sand and gravel operation. The
victim was operating a small skid-steer loader to clean up around the
plant. When he leaned out of the cab to refasten a latch that had come
loose, he inadvertently pushed the pedal which operates the lift boom.
The victim was pinned between the cross arm of the lift boom and the
upper front edge of the cab.
• December 12, 1996, a fork lift operator with 20 years of mining
experience was killed at a limestone quarry. The employee was
operating a fork lift when he struck a pipe that was protruding 1-foot
out of the ground. The fork lift overturned causing the employee to be
partially thrown from the operator's compartment and pinned under the
unit's canopy. The victim died from crushing injuries.
Safe Work Procedures
• Always operate within the
specific capacity of your
equipment.
• Always look in the direction
of travel.
• Always think about the
hazards of the route you must
take before you get there.
• Always operate your
equipment at safe speed.