We encountered an issue last week that could have become a serious incident, it shouldn’t have even taken place, but it did. It is a good lesson and we are going to use it as a teaching moment.
A driver was being unloaded at the mill. The forklift operator drove up to the cab of the truck and signed the delivery ticket. The driver, thinking he was unloaded drove away, not realizing there was one stack (3-bundles) still sitting on the deck of the trailer directly behind the bulkhead. The top two bundles eventually rolled off onto the ground as the truck as the truck made a left turn.
Fortunately, nothing was hurt but the drivers pride when he realized what had taken place.
This is an example of why you take two minutes and walk around your empty trailer when you can safely do so. Even if you have to pull forward out of the unloading zone before you can safely complete a quick inspection. There may be a loose sticker, dunnage, a strap, a tool on the deck of the trailer. You may find damage done by the forklift… or you may find out that there is one more unit of wood that the operator didn’t take off.
BE SAFE!
George Wood