Safety Seat Switches On Internal Combustion Forklifts

ANSI, the American National Standard Institute, under the B56 standards, mandates that the operator of a powered industrial truck, or forklift, must be seated in the normal operating position on the forklift before it can travel. This is to prevent operators from standing off to the side of their forklift to operate it, thus causing potential injury to themselves or their co-workers. While electric forklifts have been using safety seat switches for sometime now, ANSI is now requiring safety seat switches on all NEW counterbalanced internal combustion forklifts, i.e., Propane, Natural Gas, Gasoline or Diesel.

Under ANSI B56 standards for powered industrial trucks, 7.21.10 states: Powered travel movement of the truck shall be possible only if the operator is in the normal operating position. Also 7.21.11 states: Powered travel movement shall not occur automatically when the operator returns to the normal operating position without additional operations, (e.g., resetting the directional control, reactivating speed control, etc.).

It should be noted, while not mandated yet, locking out of the forklift’s hydraulic controls when the operator leaves the normal seated operating position is under consideration. For right now though, we are only talking about the travel movement of the forklift.

ANSI, among other things, basically sets safety and engineering standards for many industries, including the forklift industry. This way, all forklifts will be built from a basic design that has been tested for safety.

Here is one example of these standards: If a forklift can pick up 5,000 lbs, then you would need a counterweight on the back of the forklift that weighs a certain amount to help offset the loads you put on the forks. This helps to keep the back wheels of the forklift on the ground. Another example is the ANSI-mandated seatbelts that are placed on forklifts before they leave the factory.  There are many other examples that are too numerous to mention here at this time.

So when a forklift leaves the factory, a legible nameplate or tag is located on it stating that this forklift meets the standards that ANSI sets down in B56.  ANSI is not OSHA, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration; ANSI does not go out and enforce their own regulations. OSHA does that.

OSHA mirrors the ANSI standards; they recognize ANSI as an institute that knows what they are doing. So, if OSHA doesn’t have a regulation in 1910.178 ( the OSHA regulation that pertains to powered industrial trucks), then they can reference ANSI or even the Operator’s Manual of the forklift to write a citation for an unsafe act that the operators may be committing. Or if your forklift is missing a part that used to be on the forklift and has been removed or not repaired and ANSI requires it to be there, then that makes the forklift unsafe to use.

When OSHA cites you, you are being cited under the General Duty Clause (5)(A)(1) of the OSHA regulation. A good example of this is not wearing the seatbelt on a forklift. Nowhere in OSHA’s regulation 1910.178 Subpart N, Appendix A does it mention the wearing of seatbelts. But OSHA still hands out fines to this day because ANSI requires seatbelts on all sit-down style forklifts. Since they are required to be on the forklift, OSHA sees this as an item that must be worn to keep the operator safe. So the operators are committing an unsafe act when they are not wearing their seatbelts, and it is the employer who is ultimately responsible for the safety of employees and who receives the citation.

What does this all mean to operators and employers? Well, your OSHA-mandated   forklift safety training classes should mention to your operators that no safety device be bypassed on new, older trucks, or any style forklift. These devices are there for a reason: to keep the operators safe and the co-workers who work around them safe. Always make sure the parking brake is set when leaving the forklift, if so equipped. Employers shall ensure that their operators and supervisors are not bypassing these devices to meet production numbers.

Safety always comes first. Production numbers should always be determined by how safely the job can be done.

Chamber Honors T&J

At a Luncheon on October 19, we were proud to be among the local companies recognized by the Greater Syracuse Chamber of Commerce as “Economic Champions of Central New York”. 

As “Economic Champions” Thompson and Johnson was recognized for our Growth in Employment and the Capital Investment we made in our Rental Fleet. Other organizations were also recognized for their Growth in Employment, Capital Investment or Expansion of Facilities.

We appreciate the Chamber recognizing Thompson and Johnson for the second year in a row. We are just one of the many organizations honored, and it is great to see so many businesses recognized for their investment and growth in the local economy.

Congratulations to all the “Economic Champions.”

Crown Electric Rider Pallet Truck for Heavy Duty Applications

Crown Equipment recently introduced the Model 4500 Series Electric Rider Pallet Truck. The new 4500 is built for those customers who have application-specific needs that require superior performance, state-of-the art diagnostic capabilities and unprecedented reliability.

The 4500 has the following enhancements as compared to the industry-leading PE 4000 models:

• Access 1-2-3 Comprehensive System Control which provides superior diagnostics, performance profiling capabilities, and is backed with a 3-year warranty.

• AC traction system powered by a larger Crown-manufactured drive motor increasing top speeds to 9.0 mph.

These improvements, coupled with the time-proven design features, including heavy-duty fork assemblies, large drive unit and tire, and an all-steel exterior enable the Crown 4500 Series to withstand the rigors of dock work, transporting heavy loads and order picking.

Please contact your local Thompson and Johnson representative for more information on this revolutionary product!