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I had to have a very strong discussion with an employee yesterday, as I almost ran him over with a forklift. He was walking back from break, head buried in his

I had to have a very strong discussion with an employee yesterday, as I almost ran him over with a forklift. He was walking back from break, head buried in his phone. I don't care if he spends his break time on his phone, and truth be told I don't even care if he sends the occasional text while working. However, I definitely have a problem with walking around a hazardous warehouse environment and not looking as what you are doing. For context, I was reversing with a fairly precarious load and saw him walking toward my path. The backup alarm was going, and I even honked twice to get his attention. I finally had to yell loudly to get him to look up and stop. Thankfully I was paying attention (as I also expect all of our equipment operators to do), but I also expect anyone wandering through active working areas to also be paying attention to their surroundings. These requirements aren't because I want to be a jerk or make employees miserable, it is because I don't want anyone getting hurt. The warehouse I manage isn't a huge facility with 30 forklifts running around, but there is enough activity that I do expect people to be looking around for hazards, and that is a part of the employee handbook and training.

stefan_ 6y ago
Thankfully it's now 2020 and we've long since learned that putting "be vigilant" in the employee handbook doesn't do anything, just like "don't crash the plane" stickers on an instrument display don't do anything to stop plane crashes. Even OSHA, the lowest common denominator, requires you to clearly delineate pedestrian travel paths. Physical separation is highly recommended. What doesn't fucking help, and hasn't since the invention of motors in 1900, is "We need to talk about how I almost negligently ran you over".
- zrobotics 6y ago
  That is also why I ask all forklift operators to watch where they are going. Not to be flippant, but 'it takes two to tango', and if I had hit him I would have been almost entirely at fault. However, I don't think I'm getting 19th century in thinking someone walking through an active warehouse should be watching their surroundings. This is also an area where people pick stock off of rolling staircases, it isn't out of the realm of possibility to have a 45lb case of product be dropped off a rack. I should have mentioned in the original comment, it isn't just the handbook, we stress during training that this is a potentially hazardous area, and that you need to be aware of your surroundings. My goal isn't to avoid insurance/workman's comp claims; my goal is for everyone to leave at day's end safely & without injury. I realize there is no such thing as legislating safety, which is why we immediately point out any unsafe behaviors. There are unfortunately just some workplaces that by their very nature are hazardous. I spend ~40% of my time in an office environment, and the hazards there are tripping or paper cuts. However, for the warehouse I manage, I don't think it's unreasonable to expect employees to be aware of their surroundings. This is a workplace where there is moving equipment, blind corners, people on ladders, and the possibility of falling objects. The bare minimum in this situation is to look where you are going. We have pedestrian travel paths, and he wasn't even close to one. He was so engrossed in whatever he was watching on his phone that he had wandered 60' away from where he even should have been to get back to his station. He was paying so little attention he was actively walking away from his destination.

stefan_ 6y ago

Thankfully it's now 2020 and we've long since learned that putting "be vigilant" in the employee handbook doesn't do anything, just like "don't crash the plane" stickers on an instrument display don't do anything to stop plane crashes. Even OSHA, the lowest common denominator, requires you to clearly delineate pedestrian travel paths. Physical separation is highly recommended. What doesn't fucking help, and hasn't since the invention of motors in 1900, is "We need to talk about how I almost negligently ran you over".

zrobotics 6y ago
That is also why I ask all forklift operators to watch where they are going. Not to be flippant, but 'it takes two to tango', and if I had hit him I would have been almost entirely at fault. However, I don't think I'm getting 19th century in thinking someone walking through an active warehouse should be watching their surroundings. This is also an area where people pick stock off of rolling staircases, it isn't out of the realm of possibility to have a 45lb case of product be dropped off a rack. I should have mentioned in the original comment, it isn't just the handbook, we stress during training that this is a potentially hazardous area, and that you need to be aware of your surroundings. My goal isn't to avoid insurance/workman's comp claims; my goal is for everyone to leave at day's end safely & without injury. I realize there is no such thing as legislating safety, which is why we immediately point out any unsafe behaviors. There are unfortunately just some workplaces that by their very nature are hazardous. I spend ~40% of my time in an office environment, and the hazards there are tripping or paper cuts. However, for the warehouse I manage, I don't think it's unreasonable to expect employees to be aware of their surroundings. This is a workplace where there is moving equipment, blind corners, people on ladders, and the possibility of falling objects. The bare minimum in this situation is to look where you are going. We have pedestrian travel paths, and he wasn't even close to one. He was so engrossed in whatever he was watching on his phone that he had wandered 60' away from where he even should have been to get back to his station. He was paying so little attention he was actively walking away from his destination.