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Forklift Safety Day 2020 – While there will be no physical events in Washington DC this year, due to the Corona Virus, there are several things you can do to celebrate and improve forklift safety in your material handling and warehousing operation.
Celebrating Forklift Safety Day – While most of us won’t be able to attend, there are things we can do to take advantage of this day to help create awareness about the dangers that forklifts present and how to minimize the potential for accidents that can result in injury, death, damage to your facility or equipment, and financial losses.
Four Traits of Safety-Minded Companies – As managers and owners, we want a safe work environment for all of our employees. Unfortunately, all too often it escapes us. Time passes quickly, and initiatives that were once important standards become guidelines or even merely suggestions. How can we ensure that when we put safety measures in place, they will stay in place as employees come and go in a business climate that is constantly in flux?
Proper Fork and Chain Inspections – Forks and chains lift hundreds of thousands of pounds each shift and unchecked wear on either can cause a load to come crashing to the ground. This can result in severe damage to property, or even the death of an employee.
Top 5 OSHA Forklift Safety Violations – MHI has trained thousands of operators and visited hundreds of facilities. During our facility visits we observe plenty of hazards and violations. Following is our “Top Five” list of most-seen violations or safety hazards.
Who Signed OSHA Into Law, Why, and the Outcomes – In 1972, the Occupational Health and Safety Act created OSHA as we know it today. This month, we take a look at who approved the act, why, and what has transpired in the more than four decades that the agency has been in operation.
Factors Reducing the Safe Lifting Capacity of Your Forklifts – When you purchase a 5,000lb capacity forklift, you often assume that it remains a 5,000lb capacity forklift. But that is not always the case. Read what can reduce the safe lifting capacity of your forklifts and learn how to avoid them.
Four Decades of OSHA: Intents and Outcomes – The Occupational Health and Safety Act created OSHA as we know it today, back in 1972. This month we take a look at who signed the Act, why and what has transpired in the more than 4 decades that the agency has been in operation.
The Four Essentials of a Safe, Productive Forklift Fleet – There are plenty of little things you can do to improve forklift safety in your facility. Things like keeping the floor clean, installing mirrors at the ends of your aisles and prominently displayed safety posters will all improve safety. We have found four main recurrences within companies that take forklift safety to the next level.
MHI Daily Forklift Inspection Form – Pre-Shift Inspections are a requirement. This form helps walk you through the inspection process and provides back-up for inspection audits. .
Heat Illness Safety Tips – The hot summer months are upon us. With increased heat and humidity workers become more susceptible to heat-related illnesses. Workers who are not accustomed to working in the heat can quickly become ill and experience heat stroke, which can lead to serious illness and even death. There are a few things to keep in mind about heat-related illness and what you can do to help prevent it in your workers.
Aerial Lift Safety Resources – OSHA and NIOSH have recently assembled some very good resources to ensure that your aerial lift operators, and those that work around them, know the do’s and dont’s of safe aerial lift operation.
Improving Dock Safety – Docks are very busy places and represent a significant risk for an accident or incident, particularly when during busy seasons. There are some things you can do to reduce this risk and demonstrate the intention of creating a safe work environment for the employees that operate on or around your docks.
Pedestrian Safety is No Accident: Things You Need to Know – What we see quite frequently is a lack of training for employees working in a warehouse situation but who do not operate forklifts but merely work around them all day, every day. Working around them without knowledge pertaining to their potential hazards creates a dangerous scenario for catastrophe.
Safety Training vs. Teaching: Knowing the Difference – Too often we become focused on the regulation and the direct costs of non-compliance, namely fines and potential lawsuits. However, if we focus on truly making cultural changes in our organizations that revolve around a safer workplace, many other cost-savings will occur, including…
Forklift Engine Cooling Tips – Heat is your forklift engine’s number one enemy. Learn how to “keep your cool”, reduce costs, improve productivity and useful life of your equipment.
Minimizing the Costs of Your Forklift Tires – A few tips and suggestions that will help minimize the cost of your forklift tires.
Five Main Benefits of Planned Maintenance – Companies that provide Planned Maintenance on their forklift fleet enjoy five major benefits; read what they are.
Choosing the Right Battery & Charger – To be competitive in today’s markets, you need a cleaner, “greener,” but efficient product. Forklifts are no different. Leading manufacturers are doing more R & D to meet customers’ needs for more powerful electric lift trucks that will meet tough application requirements, reduce the carbon footprint and improve productivity.
Make Short Work of Long Loads – The handling of long loads with a conventional forklift truck is both difficult and dangerous. If you handle long loads, you are already familiar with the multitude of problems associated with maneuvering these difficult loads.
Equipment Acquisition Strategies – There are various methods to acquire your material handling equipment. This month, we take a look at these methods and some of the factors that may influence your procurement strategy.
Electric Lift Trucks are a Force of Change – Electric lift trucks (ELTs), once thought to be only for light application use, have made many advances in recent years. New ELT models are equipped with heavy- duty components to allow them to compete alongside traditional internal combustion-engine (ICE) units.
High-Frequency Charging Saves Money – The rising price of fossil fuel and growing environmental concerns are two factors pushing the demand for electric forklifts. This trend increases the demand for efficient battery management. High frequency charging provides improved productivity, utility energy savings and improved safety.
Purchase Price vs. Total Ownership Costs – When considering a forklift purchase, it is very important to look past that initial quote from your vendor(s). Failing to do so, could cost you far more by the time that equipment is due to be retired. Read what you need to consider in this month’s feature article.
Don’t Let Traditional Battery Charging Slow You Down – When it comes to operating your equipment, productivity and up-time are essential. One way that you can guarantee productivity is to utilize different charger technologies to eliminate the need for battery changing.
Four Levels of Learning – When you were learning to tie your shoes, it wasn’t a one-time demonstration by your mother. Rather it was a tedious task for both of you. Teaching and learning can be quite difficult and frustrating for the trainer and the trainee.
Green Initiatives in Warehousing – There are literally hundreds of things you can do to improve energy consumption in your facility. From the smallest gestures like turning off unused lighting to giant projects like installing solar panels, all your efforts go into improving the climate we live in as well as the atmosphere our employees work in every day.
MHI Rental 101: Benefits of Long-Term Rental – Long Term Rental (LTR) is our most popular form of rental or “leasing”ť programs because it is designed specifically for Forklift Users by MHI. The reason for LTR’s success is the end user only pays for utilization of the equipment, specific to their particular operation.
Five Things You Can do to Improve Energy Efficiency this Winter – The winter months are upon us. That means the heaters come on and the energy bills increase. There are a lot of little things you can do to cut your energy costs during winter. This month we highlight five big things you can do to improve energy efficiency and decrease your energy consumption and costs.
Ebola,Influenza & Productivity; What We’ve Learned – What the recent Ebola outbreak has taught us about preparedness, how that relates to the upcoming flu season, and what you can do to limit an outbreak and maintain productivity. Whether it’s your accounting department or materials handling operators, you need to see the effect the flu has on American businesses every year.
Avoiding the Flu Like the Plague – Few things can cripple productivity like the flu, and the season is upon us. Each year, hundreds of thousands of people contract the flu, and the costs mount for them and your operation. Find out what the flu really costs us and how we can work to limit its effect on our material handling operations this season.
Three Steps to Improved Productivity – Whether you’re trying to improve productivity on your assembly line, in your materials handling operation or in your accounting department, there are a few things that you can do that transcend functional lines and apply to almost all individuals.
Increase Productivity and Profits with Fleet Management – At MHI we define fleet management as the operation of your fleet at the lowest cost and highest level of productivity within your industry.
