I like the food distributor trucks better. I used to work for one of them, but they are all the same now. Day cab rig and 53' reefer trailer painted up with avocados and strawberrys and all kindsa shit parked on the side of the road, flashers on, ramp down, 2 dudes doing a chinese fire drill out the back with hand carts.
Some legal dweeb at corporate who never 'worked' a day in his life: Ya know what we need, some 18" plastic orange traffic cones will keep those guys safe!
Yeah, I had the cable company send a guy out to my place for something. He parked in my driveway - 100' from the road way, gated - and put out an orange cone behind his truck. Just laughing.
Add to that - At my work we are required to wear those safety reflective yellow vests or comparable jackets when out working on the ground.
Great idea. More visible at night so you don't get ran over, right? Except I work for the railroad. Trains can't stop or swerve to avoid a person on the ground. The person has to do the avoiding. The only thing the high vis stuff does in ensure I see the person getting ran over.
Actually, they will. Workers get complacent, forklift drivers think they're Mario Andretti, tendency to look at the floor walking from station to station... or whatever else you see in a factory, but you'll notice that light moving & snaps you out of the brain fog of your boss is an asshole or your football team got trashed or some such shit. Sorta like when a cat spots a laser pointer. -lg
I worked in a warehouse for 25 years with stand-up forks zipping around the place at full speed in areas packed with order selectors and every accident was the fault of the forklift operator, not the selector.
You probably also had everything (bollards, ladders, fire cabinets, haidrails, safety rails, etc) painted the same shade of yellow there, too. Forks can hide in factory like a cheetah in the savannah. -lg
I saw this happening at a Sam's Club last week. There was also an employee walking in front of the lift and another walking behind. Thought it wad odd.
I don't remember which big box hardware store it was in California but I saw an employee on foot walking along in front of a forklift in a parking lot waving a little orange flag.
Home Depot and Lowes both do that, especially in store. And if they have to use a lift to get something off the high shelves, they close off the aisle where the lift is and the aisle next to it.
I don't mind shutting down the aisle, I and many others have worked with some of those yahoos and don't want to get hit with something falling from 20+ feet above. Besides, most of the people that shop at those stores have never worked in any type of warehouse or industrial setting.
We have an entire safety dept made up of people who've never worked a day in the field, all hell-bent on making new rules that do nothing but slow down the work and don't make anything safer. I agree that plants where I've worked are safer now than they were back in the 70's and 80's, but there's been very little progress since then. Frankly, I'd prefer they stopped hiring idiots and morons and that alone would make the worksite safer. At the very least, hire people that can actually speak English and haven't recently crossed a border and used someone else's stolen SS # to get the job.
I was told that on my big yellow combine that I needed to have a SMV [slow moving vehicle] sign, flashers, and strobes on so someone wouldn't run into me. Somehow a machine that takes up the entire width of the rural road and stands 14 feet high is not noticeable, though having operated combines for 50+ years I have seen some outstandingly stupid drivers do some outstandingly stupid stunts around ag machinery.
I think ya'll are missing the point. It makes it so they can blame the employee who got hurt for the safety violation, and deny workers comp, thus lowering the workers comp rates and improving the bosses pensions.
My wife marveled out on the jobsite when she noticed that most of us workers did not even hear the 100 or so back up alarms blasting out decibels 24/7 . You get used to them and then they are just like the people that mandate them . Useless .
Years ago I stumbled on a You Tube video of a group of Buddhist Monks in Japan, all with smart phones, leaving the monastery, looking down at the phones. Various things happened to the monks, such as walking into a canal, or in front of a truck, and so forth. It was meant as comedy, poking fun at idiots that seem to have no common sense on such things.
The last place I worked had blue lights aimed at the floor immediately surrounding the forklift and a little ways out in front. This did seem to actually get people's attention better than anything else I've seen done.
Don C, I think you have pretty much hit the nail on the head. 98% of the "safety" stuff they do is worthless. Having a thinking employee who can properly communicate is one of the best safety tools.
Oh Yeah, that's going to work. I prefer to project a stream of semi-polite abuse at anyone stupid enough to get that close.
ReplyDeleteI like the food distributor trucks better. I used to work for one of them, but they are all the same now. Day cab rig and 53' reefer trailer painted up with avocados and strawberrys and all kindsa shit parked on the side of the road, flashers on, ramp down, 2 dudes doing a chinese fire drill out the back with hand carts.
ReplyDeleteSome legal dweeb at corporate who never 'worked' a day in his life: Ya know what we need, some 18" plastic orange traffic cones will keep those guys safe!
Yeah, I had the cable company send a guy out to my place for something. He parked in my driveway - 100' from the road way, gated - and put out an orange cone behind his truck. Just laughing.
DeleteAdd to that - At my work we are required to wear those safety reflective yellow vests or comparable jackets when out working on the ground.
Great idea. More visible at night so you don't get ran over, right? Except I work for the railroad. Trains can't stop or swerve to avoid a person on the ground. The person has to do the avoiding. The only thing the high vis stuff does in ensure I see the person getting ran over.
Actually, they will.
ReplyDeleteWorkers get complacent, forklift drivers think they're Mario Andretti, tendency to look at the floor walking from station to station...
or whatever else you see in a factory, but you'll notice that light moving & snaps you out of the brain fog of your boss is an asshole or your football team got trashed or some such shit. Sorta like when a cat spots a laser pointer.
-lg
I worked in a warehouse for 25 years with stand-up forks zipping around the place at full speed in areas packed with order selectors and every accident was the fault of the forklift operator, not the selector.
Delete
DeleteYou probably also had everything (bollards, ladders, fire cabinets, haidrails, safety rails, etc) painted the same shade of yellow there, too.
Forks can hide in factory like a cheetah in the savannah.
-lg
Yellow with black stripes. The forks were either gray or red, depending on the manufacturer.
DeleteGives new meaning to the phrase: "Doin' it Doggie style".
ReplyDeleteIn the name of “Safety” they quietly march us down the road to total state control of your lives.
ReplyDeleteI saw this happening at a Sam's Club last week. There was also an employee walking in front of the lift and another walking behind. Thought it wad odd.
ReplyDeleteI don't remember which big box hardware store it was in California but I saw an employee on foot walking along in front of a forklift in a parking lot waving a little orange flag.
DeleteHome Depot and Lowes both do that, especially in store. And if they have to use a lift to get something off the high shelves, they close off the aisle where the lift is and the aisle next to it.
DeleteI don't mind shutting down the aisle, I and many others have worked with some of those yahoos and don't want to get hit with something falling from 20+ feet above.
DeleteBesides, most of the people that shop at those stores have never worked in any type of warehouse or industrial setting.
We have an entire safety dept made up of people who've never worked a day in the field, all hell-bent on making new rules that do nothing but slow down the work and don't make anything safer. I agree that plants where I've worked are safer now than they were back in the 70's and 80's, but there's been very little progress since then. Frankly, I'd prefer they stopped hiring idiots and morons and that alone would make the worksite safer. At the very least, hire people that can actually speak English and haven't recently crossed a border and used someone else's stolen SS # to get the job.
ReplyDeleteI was told that on my big yellow combine that I needed to have a SMV [slow moving vehicle] sign, flashers, and strobes on so someone wouldn't run into me. Somehow a machine that takes up the entire width of the rural road and stands 14 feet high is not noticeable, though having operated combines for 50+ years I have seen some outstandingly stupid drivers do some outstandingly stupid stunts around ag machinery.
ReplyDeleteBased on the pic there is zero danger in front of the forklift!
ReplyDeleteI think ya'll are missing the point. It makes it so they can blame the employee who got hurt for the safety violation, and deny workers comp, thus lowering the workers comp rates and improving the bosses pensions.
ReplyDeleteBINGO! We have a winner!
DeleteMy wife marveled out on the jobsite when she noticed that most of us workers did not even hear the 100 or so back up alarms blasting out decibels 24/7 . You get used to them and then they are just like the people that mandate them . Useless .
ReplyDeleteWhen they're head down in their phone, yeah they'll see the line before the fork
ReplyDeletetruck.
Steve S6
Nah, I've seen too many gifs and videos of people looking at their phones and stumbling off curbs or into pools.
DeleteYears ago I stumbled on a You Tube video of a group of Buddhist Monks in Japan, all with smart phones, leaving the monastery, looking down at the phones. Various things happened to the monks, such as walking into a canal, or in front of a truck, and so forth. It was meant as comedy, poking fun at idiots that seem to have no common sense on such things.
DeleteAs stupid as saying to put a briefcase or something important in the back seat so you won't forget you have a child back there.
ReplyDeleteThe last place I worked had blue lights aimed at the floor immediately surrounding the forklift and a little ways out in front. This did seem to actually get people's attention better than anything else I've seen done.
ReplyDeleteDon C, I think you have pretty much hit the nail on the head. 98% of the "safety" stuff they do is worthless. Having a thinking employee who can properly communicate is one of the best safety tools.
The purpose of the cone placed behind the vehicle is to force a walk around of the vehicle. Good idea.
ReplyDeleteBut the local airport made cone stickers and stuck them to the rear bumpers of the maintenance trucks. Someone got paid for that. Dumbshits!
Oldie but goodie: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dJdCJMyBi5I
ReplyDelete