As long as there are forklifts, there will be fails. Just when the work day seems it couldn’t get worse, there’s someone with a camera phone or a CCTV camera poised to capture the action. Here are some of the best of 2018’s forklift fails.

It’s raining boxes

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NQ4t7vsDNeg

Using a forklift to get precariously stacked pallets from a great height always runs the risk of ending in tears – as this unfortunate driver found out. Rather than lowering the pallet to the ground, he ends up relying on the roof of his cab to protect him from the shower of boxes. All of this, of course, in front of the less than sympathetic audience of his workmates. It just goes to show you should keep a very close eye on your pallets – if it’s poorly stacked, leave it alone.

That sounded expensive

Running once more along the theme of goods falling from great heights, this was never going to end well. First, there’s the surge of movement – when carrying heavy goods you’ve always got to remember that momentum exists. Then it seems that the load was not properly secured, which combined with the movement caused it to break free and tumble to the ground with a big smash. Take a couple of extra moments to make sure you’ve got a firm hold on the load that you’re carrying, then be gentle with the throttle, and you’ll avoid this sort of fail.

Hitting the wine

In this clip, we see a, rather obviously embarrassed, forklift driver in the middle of a flood of red wine. He’s forgotten that forklift prongs can be sharp, and has pierced one of the wine vats. This has resulted in a very expensive red river flowing through the floor of the facility. Avoiding this sort of fail is actually very easy – all you need to do is look where you’re going. If you’re distracted or not concentrating on what you’re doing, you’ll be amazed at how easy it is to fail as spectacularly as this.

What were they thinking?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UI5wriQMSRM

Here we see a large forklift raising a small forklift, which in turn raises a load in order to try and access a second storey opening of a building. It looks like they might just get away with it before the load loses its balance and goes tumbling back to the floor. It would be insulting to professionally trained forklift drivers, or anyone with common sense, to highlight everything wrong with this video. Suffice to say – keep the forklift’s four wheels on the ground and you’ve already avoided this kind of idiotic fail.

Those boxes again

Though tamer than the last video, it’s still a fail. Here we see a driver obviously struggling with a poorly loaded pallet, which somewhat unsurprisingly ends up tumbling over after overbalancing. Packing a pallet is actually very straightforward – even distribution of weight, similar size items, don’t overload it. That’s all you need to remember. It’s only when people start to rush and don’t care about doing a job properly that forklift fails like this become inevitable.

It’s bathtime

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ym5ZVy6j3rE

In this clip, all looks well until the driver miscalculates the height of the load. He nudges the top container against the roof of the truck, causing it to tip its contents right back into the cab – giving him a rather thorough bath in the process. Two things will prevent this sort of accident. First, always pay extra attention when loading to make sure you’re not exceeding height limits. And second, if you’re going to be transporting liquid, then do so in sealed, watertight containers.

Narrow escape

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mS3KqOb8crE

In this clip, the forklift driver cuts it far too tight. He clearly knows his load is too wide for the available gap but pushes through anyway. This causes the entire facility’s shelving to collapse, from which he has a very lucky escape. Knowing the width of your load is essential – never be tempted to “squeeze it through”. If the load is too large and there’s no other way, tell your foreman or site manager. It’s up to them to provide you with a safe path for the load, otherwise, everything could come tumbling down. Literally.

Quality training helps – invest in it!

Human error, sadly, cannot be completely eradicated. But many forklift fails, as you’ve seen here, can be avoided with proper forklift operator training. Investing in training from experienced professionals, like those you’ll find at Hiremech, is essential.

Not only does it minimise the risk of potentially expensive damage to goods and machinery, but it also ensures all-important workplace safety. This applies to both forklift operators and all those around them. Hiremech can provide all of the forklift operator training required to ensure fails like these don’t happen.

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