Whether you shop in a brick-and-mortar store or online, the goods you purchase spent some time in one of 7,000 warehouses in the U.S. before making their way into your home. More than 145,000 people work in those warehouses – some in a seasonal capacity. There, they are subject to an injury rate that is higher than the national average for all industries.
That’s according to OSHA, which identifies the unsafe use of forklifts as one of the major potential hazards for workers in warehousing. About 100 employees are killed and 95,000 injured every year while operating forklifts in all industries. Forklift turnovers account for a significant percentage of these fatalities.