PTA Forklift Incident

Safety Lesson Learned: PTA Forklift Incident
Location: Kuantan, Malaysia

Brief Account of Incident
After carrying out re-bagging of a damaged PTA bag (1.1 tone) using two forklift trucks, one of the forklift trucks driver got out of the cab to remove the empty bag, as he was standing in front of his forklift and leaning forward to remove the empty bag from the forks of the truck, the second forklift truck (which was now transporting the full bag) made contact with him as the truck driving forward and turning to get out of the gate. This contact knocked the person on to the stationary forklift. The Injured person was sent to local hospital by the emergency response team and given a comprehensive medical check. He was discharged later that morning, suffering only localized bruising.

Possible Immediate Cases
1. Improper use of equipment
The re-bagging operation should use the fixed hoist rather than using two Forklifts.
2. Improper decision-making or lack of judgment
The Injured Person stand at a very dangerous position but he did not pay much attention on it.
3. Routine activity without thought
The Forklift Driver just reverse the Forklift and drive forward, turn without noticing that the person is just in front of his Forklift.
4. Congestion or restricted motion
The Packaging area is too small and there is another Forklift parking there to limit the space for the Forklift movement