There was a significant reason Congress created the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1971. Too many Americans were dying on the job. In this Feature Article, we highlight the reason behind OSHA, which President signed the act into law, and the outcomes over the last 48 years that OSHA has been working to improve worker safety around the country.

A few suggestions from Midwest on how to minimize the costs of your forklift tires.

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.

Summer is upon us, and heat can bring unexpected consequences for our operations. Heat illnesses, accidents and even death are frequently attributed to employees that don't protect themselves from the heat during summer.

Safety is one of the primary pillars of a productive and profitable material handling operation. Unfortunately, most small to mid-size companies to not have the resources for a safety and compliance manager, much less a safety department. OSHA has tools available to these companies, like yours, to help you not only gain compliance, but how to look at your operation with a “safety eye” and help you identify potential hazards before they become health, safety or legal issues.

A report generated by OSHA highlights the real costs associated with on the job injuries, who pays them and how this impacts the employee and taxpayers.

There are some obvious factors that can reduce the safe lifting capacity of your forklifts. There are others that can remain hidden. This Feature Article helps you identify these factors and ensure your lift truck operators are operating your lift trucks withing a safe operating range.

When you put a forklift to work, the equipment cost and maintenance is bore by the user. But how those costs are allocated and the financial impact varies from company to company.

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.

For decades, internal combustion engine forklifts have dominated market share in North America. Over the last five years or so, that is changing, for many reasons. More and more companies are realizing the benefits of switching to electric forklifts from internal combustion, which are...

OSHA and NIOSH have released several new resources to help you improve your aerial lift safety.  Like their forklift counterparts, operators of aerial lifts must be trained to operate the lifts under the conditions you intend to use them. Pre-shift inspections must also be done to ensure the aerial lift is safe to operate.

Electric forklifts continue to make great progress in terms of power, outdoor use and capacities. We've addressed the cost savings by switching to electric forklift in previous articles. Lower maintenance and energy costs as well as a cleaner environment are just a few of the benefits. However, all those cost savings can be greatly eroded by choosing the wrong battery and/or charger for your operation.

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. We've compiled a short list of things we think could benefit your warehouse or material handling operation.

In addition to training your forklift operators, what else can you do to ensure that your operators and pedestrians around them are safe? We found a list of some of the best practices that can help ensure safety in your material handling operation.

Violence in the workplace often erupts without warning, and can have tragic results. Taking steps to prevent these situations can improve safety in your workplace, improve employee satisfaction and lead to increased productivity. Conversely, ignoring potential hazards can result in employee injury, even death — and legal action at considerable costs to the company.

OSHA has outlined five steps you can take to identify and prevent these violent encounters before they happen. While they are not directly related to materials handling operations, we feel these guidelines can apply to a wide variety of organizations, including your company.

Establishing a fleet maintenance program that proactively maintains your equipment to maximize productivity takes just a bit of work. But with the right partner by your side the process can be much easier to set up and manage. Following are three tips we suggest in order to establish programs to maximize productivity and reduce your overall costs.

A new report generated by OSHA highlights the real costs associated with on the job injuries, who pays them and how this impacts the employee and taxpayers.

Training is one of the most important functions of any manager. From top to the bottom levels of an organization, employees that are well-trained to do their jobs perform them better, are more efficient and make greater contributions to the bottom line of the organization.

Like anything else in life, whether it’s your car, your home or even your body, planning and conducting preventive maintenance creates long-term benefits that are well worth the investment. Why would your forklift and other materials handling equipment be any different?

This guide, developed with assistance from OSHA's website will help guide you through complete and thorough pre-operational and operational inspections of internal combustion and electric forklifts.

Core values set the tone for the way your company operates. Being sure you have expressed core values and that everyone in your organization knows them can mean the difference in direction and success of your organization. Read what's important to us and why you might want to consider some core values for your company.

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.

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.

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.

When you are purchasing a piece of equipment is being purchased, you obtain competitive quotes, verify specifications and generate a purchase order. For that matter, just about anything we purchase goes through the same process. However, there is much more to purchasing forklifts and other equipment.

Understanding how people learn and what it takes to become proficient at any task underscores the importance of a continual training program for your forklift operators or for anyone that's learning anything in your organization to help keep it running. 

Four Decades of OSHA: the Results - Although often maligned, history shows that when consistent safety standards are designed and enforced, good things happen with regards to safety in the workplace. Nothing is more important that making sure each of our employees return safely tomorrow, by keeping them safe today. Read the effect OSHA has had on workplace safety since 1970. 

Daily Pre-Shift inspections are a requirement by OSHA to ensure the lift truck that is about to haul around thousands of pounds, is safe to do so.  In addition to compliance, catching small service issues before they blossom into giant repair or incident headaches is a protection to your bottom line.

There is a distinct difference between teaching someone something, like safe forklift operation, and truly training them how to perform the function safely and efficiently. We have addressed this topic in our previously published “Safety Training vs. Teaching: Knowing the Differences.”  A robust, comprehensive and ongoing safety training program for your forklift operators provides you with not only protection from potential liabilities, but also enhances your operation. In this article we will address four of the major benefits of formalizing your forklift operator training program.

Purchasing a new forklift or other material handling equipment can be expensive, but that's just a fraction of what it costs to operate it efficiently—or inefficiently. Getting the most bang for your forklift buck means understanding the products you move and establishing baseline costs as a start. Here are 8 tips for optimizing your forklift fleet.

Getting hot under the collar is about as good for your forklifts as it is for you.  Heat results in increased engine wear, part failure and lift truck maintenance expenses. Like most other facets of your operation, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, and keeping your engine operating at recommended manufacturer temperatures will improve your productivity and bottom line. 

It seems obvious but it's easy to overlook. Up front, the mast and the forks, there are four critical measurements. Read this month's feature article, find out what they are and how they can impact your facility's safety and costs.

Like an annual trip to your local physician for a check-up, a well thought out Planned Maintenance agreement with a qualified and reputable service company can dramatically increase the longevity of your equipment as well as significantly reduce your operating costs.  Conversely, operating forklift equipment without planned maintenance or allowing an inexperienced company manage your program, can result in increased operating costs, downtime and reduced useful life of your forklifts. This article helps ensure you're selecting the right forklift service provider. Read the full article...