Spotted! #4

Often, an employer has things set up right at first, but simply does not keep it up. We were completing a safety inspection and investigation after an incident where a powered pallet jack had caught fire. In the picture below, the results of the fire can still be seen on a nearby box. What cannot be seen is just how close this came to being a major incident causing a lot of damage.

Behind the box, a sign marking the presence of a fire extinguisher can be seen.  In the second picture, looking behind the box, we can see the fire extinguisher is missing. This is potentially a very dangerous hazard because precious time could be lost looking for the missing extinguisher.  Fortunately, another worker ran over with another extinguisher for the pallet jack operator to use.  Fire put out, minimal damage, no injuries.

Let’s look at what else happened.

The pallet jack caught on fire because the battery overheated.  The company contracted to do maintenance on the equipment was not doing their job, so the battery was dry. In the course of the investigation we were looking into whether a fire could start while the jack was plugged in to the charger overnight. We found the charger was sitting on a stack of wooden pallets near an area where flammables were stored.

We also found that the manufacturer recommended that the battery cover be opened during charging. The operator, not properly trained, had no idea of the manufacturer’s requirements.

We also discovered that the operator had never been trained to operate a fire extinguisher. Fortunately, he figured it out quickly. The training we scheduled for key personnel was cancelled because it was too expensive. The company figured risking burning their facility to the ground was cheaper than training the workers.

Compliance with safety regulations is not free, but it is far cheaper than the damage that can result from neglect. And, in compliance, no workers are harmed.

See our Web site: SafetyRich