Lift trucks: Safety equipment manufacturer protects customers and employees

Dorel Juvenile Group, as a leading manufacturer of child safety products, is also committed to safety inside its manufacturing operations. The company’s 1.1-million-square-foot factory and 336,000-square-foot warehouse in Columbus, Ind., manufactures and ships 20,000 car seats per day, or more than 5 million car seats every year. By maintaining a comprehensive lift truck safety program, the company is able to proactively address safety concerns.

The Columbus operation has 110 lift trucks, mostly 3,500-pound and 5,000-pound capacity internal combustion units, used primarily to transport raw material, parts and finished goods. Standard safety features include overhead guards, operator restraint systems, horns and skid resistant steps.
The lift trucks are also equipped with an active stability system that electronically monitors and controls lift truck operations, helping to reduce the risk of incidents.

Dorel’s lift truck safety program starts with its maintenance program to ensure all of the vehicles are in good working condition. The company also provides regular operator training—with constant reminders for operators to wear safety belts—and hosts an annual forklift rodeo. The rodeo challenges drivers to balance the vehicles on a teeter-totter, navigate an obstacle course and pick up loads and place them on a glass vase without breaking it. The objective is to raise awareness of safe driving and operating practices.

On the rare occasions when an incident does occur, the driver is automatically taken off the truck until Dorel’s safety committee fully investigates what happened. If the driver is at fault, he or she is temporarily reassigned and has to complete some remedial training before they are allowed to operate a forklift again.

“If we have any repeat issues show up, the safety committee will see if we need to make changes,” says King. “We’ve blocked off aisles where we’ve had problems and now make the fork trucks drive all the way around so we don’t have any conflict with pedestrian traffic.”

Coupled with the heightened safety awareness within the Columbus facility, such proactive actions help prevent injury and damage and ensure that employees go home in the same injury-free condition that they arrive for work each day.

Toyota Material Handling U.S.A.
800-226-0009
http://www.toyotaforklift.com