I've done that same exact thing in the past (not as high though, the forks on that machine extended to about 11' feet off finish floor. Just needed two boxes of floor tile and the customer was in a hurry to go. So my coworker asks me to climb on fork, upsie daisy, got the two boxes of tile and back down in less than 30 seconds.
I'm scared of heights and the experience freaked me out some. But all came out unhurt in end.
I used to work for my Dad's company during breaks from school. They were mainly "make work" jobs, but I needed the money so what the hell.
One time, it was decided that the tops of the lighting fixtures, those ones up by the ceiling just like in the photo, were too dusty and needed to be cleaned.
So they got a similar forklift, put a pallet (unsecured) on the tines, and up I went. That wasn't enough so they found a wooden crate and banded that to the pallet. Standing on my tiptoes on the crate I could just reach all of the top of the fixtures to wash them down. Of course there was no safety harness, belt, or anything.
That thing was as wobbly as hell. I don't like heights and absolutely hated that job.
Working in my father’s warehouse at 15 and learning to drive a forklift. Dindus give me some of their gin and juice to drink and soon enough I bury those tines into a boxed refrigerator. Turned it around to hide the holes. Gonna be a pissed off housewife who has that delivered to her!
Driving the high lift reach truck was fun! About the only thing I miss from the Home Depot warehouse job. We had a cage for the forks if you needed to do that.
When I was a kid working night shift we used to whip sheets of cardboard at each other. One would inevitably get stuck in the ceiling. That meant on of us had to ride the forks up to go get it .... And then get driven around the warehouse first while up there. Ah to be young again.
We used those racks in the steel melt shop that I worked at, to store barrels of scrap. You can climb those things to get to the very top, in order to make sure that the correct barrel of scrap was there, before we took that skid down. There were sometimes 8 or 9 small drums of scrap on a pallet, and the computer was not always correct. Of course in later years that came to a halt, with the emphasis on safety overcoming that of expediency. Not a bad thing of course and we always had safety cages that we could have used, but it was hard to see the label of all of the drums from a cage, so you had to take the skid down anyway.
They have a machine, called a cherry picker, designed for that exact purpose. I can tell that this is a Lowe's so they should have 3 or 4 of them in the store. This is like using a shoe to drive a nail when there's a hammer in the next room.
Had one of my midnight shift material handlers fall off the second rack onto the tines of his forklift that he’d raised about 4 feet off the floor to climb up on. He broke his back and was a paraplegic with a colostomy bag for the rest of his life. Everyone else in the warehouse used the safety cages from then on.
I've done that same exact thing in the past (not as high though, the forks on that machine extended to about 11' feet off finish floor. Just needed two boxes of floor tile and the customer was in a hurry to go. So my coworker asks me to climb on fork, upsie daisy, got the two boxes of tile and back down in less than 30 seconds.
ReplyDeleteI'm scared of heights and the experience freaked me out some. But all came out unhurt in end.
It's not the fall but rather the sudden stop. Isaac Newton will not be denied !!
DeleteWhat could possibly go wrong!
ReplyDeleteWe used to at least have an empty pallet to stand on. I'm surprised cal-osha wasn't around in the seventies.
ReplyDeleteWe had safety cages in the warehouse. Get caught not using on and you're fired.
DeleteLook Carl, NOBODY likes the birds flying around inside Home Depot. Just let it go...
ReplyDeleteI thought something was weird. They are missing the people on the floor to guide customers away.
ReplyDeleteCoffee first. Safety is about third or fourth.
ReplyDeleteThat looks like Ken to me. Just sayin'.
ReplyDeleteI think it's Phil.
DeleteNo that isn't Phil but it is someone that comments here...
DeleteI used to work for my Dad's company during breaks from school. They were mainly "make work" jobs, but I needed the money so what the hell.
ReplyDeleteOne time, it was decided that the tops of the lighting fixtures, those ones up by the ceiling just like in the photo, were too dusty and needed to be cleaned.
So they got a similar forklift, put a pallet (unsecured) on the tines, and up I went. That wasn't enough so they found a wooden crate and banded that to the pallet. Standing on my tiptoes on the crate I could just reach all of the top of the fixtures to wash them down. Of course there was no safety harness, belt, or anything.
That thing was as wobbly as hell. I don't like heights and absolutely hated that job.
Matt
Working in my father’s warehouse at 15 and learning to drive a forklift. Dindus give me some of their gin and juice to drink and soon enough I bury those tines into a boxed refrigerator. Turned it around to hide the holes. Gonna be a pissed off housewife who has that delivered to her!
DeleteDriving the high lift reach truck was fun! About the only thing I miss from the Home Depot warehouse job.
ReplyDeleteWe had a cage for the forks if you needed to do that.
When I was a kid working night shift we used to whip sheets of cardboard at each other. One would inevitably get stuck in the ceiling. That meant on of us had to ride the forks up to go get it .... And then get driven around the warehouse first while up there. Ah to be young again.
ReplyDeleteWe used those racks in the steel melt shop that I worked at, to store barrels of scrap. You can climb those things to get to the very top, in order to make sure that the correct barrel of scrap was there, before we took that skid down. There were sometimes 8 or 9 small drums of scrap on a pallet, and the computer was not always correct.
ReplyDeleteOf course in later years that came to a halt, with the emphasis on safety overcoming that of expediency. Not a bad thing of course and we always had safety cages that we could have used, but it was hard to see the label of all of the drums from a cage, so you had to take the skid down anyway.
They have a machine, called a cherry picker, designed for that exact purpose. I can tell that this is a Lowe's so they should have 3 or 4 of them in the store. This is like using a shoe to drive a nail when there's a hammer in the next room.
ReplyDeleteHad one of my midnight shift material handlers fall off the second rack onto the tines of his forklift that he’d raised about 4 feet off the floor to climb up on. He broke his back and was a paraplegic with a colostomy bag for the rest of his life. Everyone else in the warehouse used the safety cages from then on.
ReplyDelete