Safe Stacking

The driver of a lifting equipment operator has a huge responsibility as the safety of those around him and the achievement of a safe stacking in in his hands. He is expected to make the right moves at the right time.

The first core responsibility of an equipment operator is to ensure that he is knowledgeable about the stacking activity he is about to carry out. It is essential that the operator is familiar with the surrounding of his work site. This would ensure he avoids any risks or take precaution where necessary.

An operator should also ensure that he assess or examine the nature of articles he is supposed to stack beforehand. According to the Act different goods are stacked in different ways hence; an operator should ensure he has the expertise in that field and knowledge about the stacking process of those particular goods. For example, he should identify the shape, sizes and mass so as to stack heavier articles under the lighters ones as per legal stipulations.

Different forklifts have different load limits. A driver should ensure that he is aware of the load limit of the machine and the estimated mass of loads he is lifting so that he does not overload and contribute to incidents and injuries.

Even thou most companies subject their machinery to constant inspection for efficiency, some machines are not used on a daily basis. If a forklift is not regularly in use, it is the operator's responsibility to put it to test before use to ensure it is in a good working condition. He should check the most vital aspects like the braking system, gears, reversing siren and the horn as these would critically contribute to an incident if they failed during an operation.

It is the responsibility of a machinery operator to ensure that the stacking process does not endanger employees working to the site. The operator should ensure that he uses the right signal at the right time to alert other employees if there is a need to take any action. These are the functions of the reversing siren and the horn.

Although lifting equipment operators are skilled persons, they are prone to making mistakes as they are also human. It is therefore, the responsibility of an equipment driver to identify an unsafe stack and dismantle it immediately. This would significantly reduce cases of goods crushing on fellow employees or crushing on the floor and getting damaged.

Equipment drivers should ensure that they do not drive at high speed in an area where other employees are working. This is meant to reduce cases of incidents in the working environment.

Equipment operators should halt any operation or report to any relevant authorities any time when they feel their life is being endangered by the inefficiency of equipment during any operation. It is better to prevent an incident that wait for it to happen before action is taken. Reporting such cases will enable the employer to call relevant expert to inspect or repair it.

An equipment driver is the one responsible for ensuring that activities are conducted without affecting fellow employees who are doing their job. Their responsibility would save a company a lot of money.