At the end of September 2005, a seminar titled “Safety issues in the construction and operation of motor-powered industrial trucks used in internal transport” was held at the Faculty of Transport of the Warsaw University of Technology. During the proceedings, speakers discussed both legal and selected technical aspects of forklift safety. However, the topic proved to be so extensive that it became a catalyst for further analysis.
Safety status in light of statistics
According to reports prepared by the National Labour Inspectorate, more than 80,000 workplace accidents occur in Poland each year. This figure applies to all sectors of the economy and is variable. Its dynamic nature is illustrated in Fig. 1. Despite the upward trend for the total number of accidents visible on the chart, a decrease in the number of the most severe ones, resulting in fatalities, is observed. While 590 people died in 2002, this figure fell to 564 in 2003 and 547 in 2004. It is concerning, however, that in the statistical group “transport, warehousing and communications,” a simultaneous increase in the number of severe and fatal accidents was recorded in 2004. The latter increased by 14 compared to the previous year.
The cited figures, however, do not show what proportion of accidents involved forklifts, as such statistics are not kept in Poland. Detailed information is provided by data concerning the US economy (2, 4, 5, 6). In that country, out of more than 4.7 million workplace accidents recorded each year, forklifts are involved in 20,000 – 36,000.
In 2002, out of 5,524 fatal incidents, approximately 100 involved forklifts. This accounts for almost 2% of all events with the most tragic consequences. The scale of the phenomenon is illustrated in Fig. 2. The cited data indicate that accidents are an inherent part of the work of logistics systems. A significant share among those with the most severe consequences are those involving forklifts. Hence, the need to treat this problem more carefully seems obvious.
The article comes from the magazine “Logistyka” No. 4/2006.