Removing The Keys From Unattended Forklifts
This commonly overlooked safe work practise can cause a string of nasty legal and insurance problems for you and your business!
You might not be aware but it is actually an unsafe work practise to leave the keys in an unattended forklift. Leaving the keys in your forklift or other equipment allows unauthorised people to get access and can cause a string of nasty legal or insurance problems if an accident occurs.
Many companies have been faced with fines and expensive legal issues after an unauthorised driver (casual staff, truck drivers, contractors etc) has used their forklift and had an accident.
If an unauthorised person has access to your forklift, they won’t be covered under your insurance and you face being liable if someone is injured.
In extreme cases, we’ve seen scenarios where young people have broken into a site overnight, found a forklift sitting there with the key in the ignition and decided to go for a joy ride. When one of the intruders is injured (or killed), the controller of the premises has to prove that he/she isn’t liable.
Australian Standards Say The Following:
3.3 Unattended Industrial Trucks. Before leaving an industrial truck unattended, the operator shall observe the following precautions:
(g) Turn off the power and remove the key.
(AS 2359.2-1985 Part 2- Operations, page 17.
When originally getting their licence, each of your forklift operators would have been taught to remove the keys as well as being made to answer a specific question as to why this is necessary. This question and procedure has been part of the licence test for years and are still included today.
Although your operators should all know about this safe work practise, removing the keys is still very commonly overlooked on most worksites.
It’s up to you to adopt and enforce this as one of your standard procedures. As painful as it might now sound, adopting this procedure before an incident occurs rather than after will provide you with far less headaches in the long run.
Now, obviously there are some disadvantaged to removing the keys from machines, especially at first.
People can loose them, take them home, etc: Naturally there’s going to be a teething period where operators have to get used to taking the keys out.
Nonetheless, it is a procedure that needs to be adopted.
Creative Solutions
Luckily, there are many practical options for overcoming this risks associated with unattended forklifts. Some companies fit keypad entry to their forklifts where three or four digit codes are required to start the engine and no keys are needed.
Available products to help with this, range from $5 keypads, available from Dick Smith Electronics right through to systems that control and monitor everything from driving speed to work rates, ensure that machine maintenance inspections have been completed before use, have impact sensors to determine when damage occurs and can even have individual operator identification to establish who was using it at which time.
(One of our good friends at Flemington Markets has the machines set up to sound a buzzer if the machine is stationary for more than five minutes between the hours of 11pm and 6am. In case you hadn’t guessed, the buzzer is there to wake up poor operators who have dozed off on the job)
For any help or further assistance on this or any other matter, please feel free to contact me at [email protected] or phone 1300 512 083.
