Forklift accidents can cause serious injuries if you don’t follow safety guidelines. Some of these are rare and uncommon powered industrial truck accidents. However, one of the most preventable yet still very common forklift accidents our Houston forklift accident lawyers see involves the forklift falling off the dock while trying to unload a trailer. This happens all too often when the truck driver moves or the trailer rolls back from the dock while the forklift operator is still loading or unloading. To prevent these accidents, truck drivers and forklift operators both need to know how and why they happen. They also need training on the procedures and tools used to prevent them.
What is a Trailer-Loading Dock Separation Accident?
A trailer-loading dock separation accident occurs when a forklift operator attempts to load/unload a truck trailer, but the trailer has moved away from the dock, causing the forklift to fall into the space between the dock and the trailer instead of moving smoothly from the dock to the trailer. These accidents often happen when trailers drift away from the dock, or drivers pull away without checking.
How Trailer-Loading Dock Separation Accidents Happen
Imagine being a forklift driver unloading an 18-wheeler. You drive in, pick up your load, and as you back out, the loading dock isn’t there. How can this happen? There are a couple of ways this can happen:
- The truck driver mistakenly believes the forklift operator is done and fails to get out and double-check before pulling away.
- An unsecured trailer drifts forward due to the vibrations of the loading process.
- The truck driver failed to properly back and park the truck
- Faulty ramp placement and/or securing.
Approximately 7% of all forklift accidents involve the forklift falling from the loading dock. When a piece of large machinery with a driver inside drops like that, there can be very serious catastrophic injuries, not to mention the damage to the equipment. The forklift may roll over or fall onto its side upon landing, causing the driver to be thrown from or pinned under it.
Another factor can be unfamiliarity with a particular location’s loading and unloading procedures. Interstate vs. intrastate drivers may be less familiar with the forklift driver and other dock workers because they drive over the road to more unfamiliar locations. This unfamiliarity can contribute to accidents. If the driver’s and forklift operator’s expectations aren’t aligned, communication may break down, and one may not understand the other’s expectations.
How Do You Prevent Trailer Drifting to Avoid a Forklift Falling of a Dock?
A forklift falling off the dock can cause serious injuries to the forklift operator. Every company whose employees work in and/or around areas where forklifts operate should adopt forklift safety training and procedures for all employees, whether they drive forklifts or not. Moreover, companies must enforce these procedures. Proving liability for a forklift accident often hinges upon the following or failure to follow safety procedures.
What Safety Steps Can Be Used to Prevent Dock Separation?
Follow these 6 steps to prevent dock separation accidents. These include using wheel safety chocks, using dock communication systems, requiring mandatory visual safety inspections, mandating check-and-recheck systems, enforcing rules to minimize distractions, and educating truck drivers in writing.
Using Wheel Safety Chocks
First, require wheel safety chocks before a trailer can be unloaded or loaded. Most importantly, the warehouse or facility where the trucks are making deliveries should provide these and not simply rely on truck drivers to supply their own.
Dock Communication Systems
Second, use dock communication systems. Several LED lighting systems help communicate when it is safe to load/unload or drive off a dock. Some are automated while some are manually operated. The Smart Chock had a sensor on the chock that communicates with a light on the dock that tells the forklift operator when the vehicle is safely chocked.
Mandatory Visual Inspection
Third, adopt and use mandatory visual inspection and “lock-out” procedures to require the truck driver to get out and check that the chocks are in place, the parking brake is set, and the trailer is in the correct position before any loading or unloading is allowed. The truck driver should further check to see that any loading ramp used is properly secured and the door(s) of the trailer are properly secured open or shut as required.
Check and Recheck
Fourth, there should be a double-check system in place. Whether it is a manager or a site inspector, someone from the receiving company should inspect the trailer and chocks before loading or unloading to prevent a forklift from falling off the dock due to trailer-dock separation.
Rules to Minimize Distractions
Fifth, distractions should be minimized. Job sites are often noisy. But forklift operators should have as many distractions removed as possible. Listening to music and wearing headphones by forklift drivers should never be permitted. Cell phone use while operating a forklift should also be forbidden and enforced.
Written Truck Driver Education
Sixth, the company where the loading and unloading occurs needs to communicate its own proper procedures to all drivers. Whether through a checklist or instruction manual, the rules for each dock should be communicated effectively to all drivers. Never assume truck drivers know or understand your requirements.
Conclusion
Preventing trailer-loading dock separation accidents requires a concerted effort from all persons involved in the unloading process. Policies and procedures should ensure the trailer remains in place and cannot be moved during loading and unloading so the forklift does not fall from the dock and cause serious injuries. Provide, explain, and require the proper equipment to prevent drifting and/or drive-off. The rules need to be observed and enforced. Distractions must be minimized. Lastly, the truck driver needs to be properly advised of and trained on the warehouse unloading procedures. Doing these things can make the loading dock a safer work environment for employees and delivery drivers. To speak to a forklift accident lawyer, call Simmons and Fletcher, P.C. at (713) 932-0777.
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