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Four Tips to Use Your Material Handler Safely

Dec. 14 2021 Safety By RECO Equipment

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You need to be extra cautious when operating heavy machinery, and your material handler is no exception. That’s why we have gathered up a few tips to get you started.

Follow our guide to learn to use your material handling equipment safely and efficiently. For more information, come down to RECO Equipment. We happily serve the states of Ohio, Indiana, and Pennsylvania, so stop in today!

Provide Training to Your Operators

You can minimize work-related accidents at your job site by providing your staff with regular and suitable training sessions. Make it mandatory that only trained and certified workers operate heavy machinery like your pieces of material handling equipment.

The training should help them understand the basics of the machines they’ll be operating, such as installation, maintenance, and identifying faults in the model. The idea is to help them determine when they should stop operation and take a closer look at the machine they are using.

Provide Workers with Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)

PPE can help reduce workplace injuries significantly. That’s why you must ensure your workers are always appropriately dressed when using a material handler.

Give your workers the latest and best quality safety gear, including hard hats, safety glasses, earmuffs or plugs, full bodysuits, and slip-resistant gloves and boots, among others.

Perform Preventive Maintenance Checks

Preventive maintenance checks help you identify potential issues, which can become major concerns if neglected. These can not only increase downtime at your worksite, forcing you to seek costly repairs, but they can also pose a risk to operator safety.

To avoid all these problems, you’ll want to maintain your machine regularly and conduct pre-shift inspections. Make sure that you check the:

  • Responsiveness of your braking system.
  • Hydraulic and electrolyte fluid and oil levels.
  • Condition of your tires, including the air pressure in them.
  • Safety alarms, smoke and fire detectors, and lights.
  • Essential components to find any rusty metal parts or pieces that might need extra lubrication.

Plan Breaks for Your Staff

Material handling tasks are strenuous, resulting in physical weariness and fatigue in workers. This can diminish productivity and make accidents more likely. Moreover, prolonged exertion can even result in lasting physical disorders.

To avoid this, you’ll want to plan enough breaks for your staff and make sure they are well-rested and energetic to accomplish their tasks. Schedule shifts to allow each worker plenty of time to sleep and have a standardized reporting system where your staff can report feelings of fatigue. It’ll be a good idea to move tired workers to low-risk jobs or encourage them to take a break before they resume work.

We hope these tips help you use your material handling equipment safely and efficiently. If you need more advice or help to upgrade your machine to the latest model, visit RECO Equipment. Our friendly team can address your concerns and show you our latest collection of material handlers for sale. We have multiple dealerships throughout Ohio, Indiana, and Pennsylvania, and we can’t wait to serve you!