Here are five accident statistics that cause manufacturing leaders to consider a Fork Truck Free (FTF) experience and the need to exercise extreme caution when operating a forklift. Forklifts account for around 85 deaths every year. Forklift accidents that result in serious injury total 34,900 annually. Non-serious injuries related to forklift accidents reach 61,800 each year.
Often what triggers better safety practices is a serious employee injury or worse yet, an employee death. There are severe cost burdens associated with forklift accidents and OSHA citations. With the unemployment rate at the lowest level since 1969, the scarce labor availability, and higher labor wages, exposes safety concerns. It is the employer’s responsibility to cover any medical expenses for a worker injured in a work-related accident. The cost of forklift accidents involving injured workers can cost as high as $38,000 in direct costs per injured worker and $150,000 in indirect costs.
OSHA’s Office of Regulatory Affairs suggested that $4-6 is saved for every $1 invested in safety equipment and programs. The single riskiest equipment on the manufacturing plant floor or distribution center is the forklift. Only in a Fork Truck Free environment can the severity and probability of worker injury be dramatically mitigated. Only Topper Industrial carts with more than 100 patents are ergonomically desirable, cost-effective, and proven safer and more profitable.
Human injury is serious enough, but the additional costs of forklift accidents include downtime, stalled production, damaged stock, and damaged machinery and other equipment — all impacting revenue.
Just two months after ProMat 2019 in Chicago, National Safety Month will take place. Each year the safety professionals in both manufacturing and materials handling focus on reducing leading causes of injury and death at work. Throughout the year, Topper Industrial joins thousands of organizations and businesses in raising awareness in preventing injuries and deaths the workplace. The safety decision is the obvious rationale and benefit for Fork Truck Free.
Safety is a sound and solid business decision. Implementing a Fork Truck Free environment for material flow and movement will protect the workplace from employee injuries and deaths, boost lean efficiency, and experience dramatic cost reductions.
Ultimately, safety concerns lead to lean alternatives for manned forklift transport and continuous process improvement strategies. Flexible automation is quickly leading Fork Truck Free adoption among manufacturing companies throughout North America. Even at the lean microcosm, the simple task of moving product within a manufacturing cell rather than calling, waiting, and using a fork truck is driving huge adoption of new Fork Truck Free technologies. A manufacturing cell can reduce part transportation because the proximity of the cell’s resources makes part transportation almost non-existent. As a result, material handling equipment can be reduced or eliminated completed.
Topper Industrial is exhibiting at ProMat in Chicago at Booth #S4812 from April 8 – 11, 2019. Topper Industrial education session is titled, “Why is Cart Delivery in High Demand?” in Theater I at 1:30 pm on Tuesday, April 9, 2019 and repeated on Wednesday, April 10, 2019 at 10:30 am in Theater E. Visit our booth at ProMat.
About Topper Industrial
For more than twenty years, Topper Industrial, (www.topperindustrial.com) has been a leading manufacturer of material handling carts and equipment solutions. Topper Industrial designs and builds industrial delivery carts, cart lifts, lifts & tilts, material handling racks, steel containers, casters, tube & joint and industrial cart parts & components. Topper Industrial specializes in services to Manufacturing, Fulfillment, Warehousing and the Distribution Sectors. Topper Industrial’s services include, but are not limited to: Design & customization, manufacturing & production, site analysis & planning and implementation justification. Topper’s material handling solutions make delivering material line side more effective through more efficient practices.
Topper Industrial is a proud member of MHI. Follow on Twitter @TopperInd or on LinkedIn.