Nice article Wayne re seatbelt use. You bring up some good strong points and common issues in regards to SHOULD I wear or MUST I wear.
I for one totally agree 100% with most of your points and that at times the wearing of the seat belt is not always practical - especially depending on the nature of work /operation. However I was disappointed with your comment in regards to: It is sad that quite possibly all trainers don't really understand the reality of forklift use and their limitations. I am sure every trainer does the best he or she can, but I have never met one who understands "must" versus "should" in this context. Not one.
Its a shame you feel or think this way! Remember were not all tarred by the same brush!
FYI IN nz:
SHOULD = strongly preferred / indicates recommended best practice (But is not mandatory).
MUST (SHALL) = Indicates a legal requirement under an Act / Legislation. Its Mandatory.
So you see some do know the difference from Should and Shall (Must).
With Forklift Seat Belts I personally recommend you SHOULD wear one! Where its totally practical to do so!
Why would you not use the safety device that's fitted when its suitable to use that said device?.
Cheers and keep those safety issues rolling!
Paul.
(Full time NZ Registered Instructor / Assessor of 15+ years. Operator for 5 years.)
Showing items 1 - 3 of 3 results.
the only occasion I have met when the wearing of a seat belt was not good was in a boat yard, where the truck had a negative lift mast to lower boats to the water and lift them out. When asked the question, I was with a H & S Officer, and he agreed with me that, provided that a risk assessment showed that it was safer to be able to get out of a truck that had fallen into the dock, than to be trapped under water when wearing the belt, it was better not to wear a seat belt.
Otherwise, my advice as a trainer was for the operator to always wear the belt. If he didn't do so, he would be at least partly liable for any injury that occurred as a result of not wearing one.
Although I agree with general statements here, and I am a newbie at only 40 yrs experience, lol, I will keep an open mind as to when a seat belt might not be safe to use. However, accidents do happen even when you are moving the unit 2 inches. So, when is it not safe to wear a seat belt? Turning from the hips to see behind is not affected by the seat belt. Loading and unloading trucks is a definite time to wear it, no excuses. Up or down a ramp? Up the ramp and you can't see for the load means you must have a spotter. Can't agree there. In and out of the unit several times builds complacency and so is a must time. As I said, I will keep an open mind, BUT, I have yet to come across a situation whereas it is not safe to wear your seat belt in my limited time of 40 years. Just my 2 cents worth.
You are right Paul I was painting with too broad a brush regarding trainers. In fact I haven't met a great number of trainers and chances are there are many good ones like yourself. When I was active training in the Vancouver area I was frustrated that my competitors wore blinders and insisted that operators should always wear their seat-belts. Someone made a comment that the only time operators always wore their seat-belts was at a training session or rodeo. Thanks for the input.
Forkliftaction.com accepts no responsibility for forum content and requires forum participants to adhere to the rules. Click here for more information.