July 2024 IVES Update e-Newsletter

The United States' Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has reached a settlement with a New Jersey contractor over a fatal fall in October 2023 at a multi-storey construction site.

The 39-year-old worker fell from the fifth floor after stepping onto an elevated platform to unload materials.

OSHA inspectors found Granite and Marble Services did not secure the work platform fully to prevent it from tipping or from being dislodged from a telehandler's forks.

Granite and Marble Services also failed to provide legally required fall protection and used the work platform without the prior written approval from the telehandler's manufacturer. The agency cited the contractor with four serious violations.

After receiving its citations in April, the company requested an informal conference with OSHA's area director and reached the settlement agreement with the agency.

The agreement affirms Granite and Marble Services' four serious violations and requires the company to pay a USD13,500 penalty, implement further enhanced abatement measures and develop a safety program and fall protection plan.

“While this settlement cannot reverse the preventable loss of life, it goes a long way to ensure that Granite and Marble Services will abate hazards and implement safety measures to stop another tragedy,” says OSHA area director Joseph Czapik in Parsippany, New Jersey.

“Falls are the leading cause of death in the construction industry, which is why industry employers must protect their workers from clearly deadly hazards to ensure a safe workplace.”

As part of its fatality investigation, OSHA also initiated an inspection of ARC NJ, operating as ARC Building Partners, the general contractor at the Bayonne construction site.

OSHA cited the company for two serious violations for its failures to ensure a platform was secured to a forklift and for not getting the manufacturer's written approval before attaching a working platform to a telehandler.

Proposed penalties total USD22,584. The company has submitted a notice of contest to the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.

In 2022, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported 1,069 construction workers died on the job in the United States, including 395 related to falls from elevation.

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Forklift battery safety is a critical concern in industrial environments and adhering to the guidelines set forth by the United States' Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is essential for maintaining a secure workplace.

Proper forklift battery handling, as highlighted by OSHA's Severe Injury Reports - mandatory for employers in the United States to file since January 1, 2015 - plays a significant role in reducing workplace accidents.

These reports have recorded 60,912 entries as of August 2021, with a small fraction, less than 1% (52 incidents), relating to injuries from handling batteries for electric forklifts, pallet jacks, and electric vehicles.

OSHA data shows most battery-related incidents occur during battery moving or watering

To enhance forklift battery safety, it's crucial to understand the risks involved in battery replacement, relocation and maintenance, processes that have historically led to injuries like fractures, compressions and acid burns.

These incidents underscore the dangers associated with the substantial weight, large dimensions and chemical hazards of traditional lead-acid batteries.

For material handling operations that use only one battery per forklift, there is no need to switch batteries or perform maintenance daily.

In fact, it's often more cost-effective to switch to lithium batteries for your forklift fleet. This change will significantly reduce the safety risks associated with lead-acid batteries.

Why aren't lithium batteries featured in OSHA injury logs?

The explanation is clear-cut: the reputable lithium forklift batteries available in the US adhere to stringent safety protocols, effectively avoiding incidents in OSHA data. These batteries are designed to meet Underwriters Laboratories (UL) guidelines thoroughly.

Underwriters Laboratories (UL), a global safety certification organisation with a presence in more than 100 countries and a century-long history, is recognized by OSHA among the Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratories (NRTL).

UL, at the forefront of safety science, conducts comprehensive testing for numerous products, including industrial batteries, across various sectors. UL's safety criteria ensure exceptional industrial practices, as outlined in UL's battery testing procedures.

Two specific UL certifications pertain to lithium-ion batteries:

UL 2580, assessing batteries for electric vehicles, focuses on the safety of the energy storage assembly under simulated abuse conditions, safeguarding against any potential harm. The standard encompasses a series of mechanical and electrical tests, including overcharge, short-circuit and thermal-stability assessments.
UL 991 evaluates safety-related controls utilising solid-state devices, particularly the Battery Management System (BMS). This set of tests complements battery standards, targeting the electronic aspects of battery controls to mitigate fire, electric shock or injury risks.

These rigorous tests solidify lithium batteries' safety status. Lithium forklift batteries enable a "single-battery" operational model, eliminating the need for frequent battery swapping and other hazards associated with lead-acid batteries.

The top lithium providers, such as Electrovaya, Flux Power, Green Cubes and OneCharge Lithium Batteries, leverage cutting-edge technology to meet and often exceed UL and OSHA standards.

Lithium Iron (Ferrum) Phosphate (LFP) cells are lauded as the safest and most reliable in the US, due to their higher thermal stability and longevity. LFP technology's advantages over NMC and other chemistries are detailed in comparative degradation tests.

The lithium segment is growing fast

Lithium technology is revolutionising the forklift industry, phasing out lead-acid batteries in favor of more dependable and safe lithium options with a better return on investment.

Predictions suggest lithium batteries will dominate half of the industrial battery market by 2032, with growth set to surge due to significant investments in lithium cell production and recycling, alongside declining raw material costs.

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Question: I have been asked if a Kubota tractor with pallet forks requires forklift training or just tractor specific training.

It will be used for pallets only.

Answer: Technically, OSHA still looks at a loader with forks as a piece of earthmoving equipment so the operator still needs training but not necessarily to the specification of the forklift standards.

However, I would recommend training that is in line with the OSHA PIT standard to ensure that it is consistent and thorough.

For you as the trainer, it means you follow the same format usual, which is classroom theory instruction followed by supervises practical training with the equipment and a practical evaluation.

As for how to recorded it, make sure you get all the usual names, company and equipment information then record the topics covered during classroom training, any tests given and of course, the location and activities/tasks performed during practical training and evaluation, along with the date.

Our Operator Training Packages contain equipment-specific operator material designed for you to administer in-house training for your employees or customers. This material is available for standard (counterbalanced) forklifts, narrow aisle forklifts, powered pallet trucks, rough terrain telehandlers, aerial boomlifts, scissor lifts, wheel loaders, backhoe loaders, skid-steer loaders, and excavators.

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Ives Update NewsLetter