Forklift feature articles

Pallet truck safety in retail environment

This useful, short article by Lucas Collom from Toyota Materials Handling talks about safety when hand pallet trucks are used in retail establishments.

When using material handling equipment, safety should always be your number one priority. Maintaining a high level of safety can become additionally complicated when customers are in the vicinity of your equipment. When your equipment is in an area where customers are present, business owners and operators should both prioritize the safety of those customers.

In this situation, everyone who works with or around the equipment needs to understand the risks presented to customers. While there is no way to guarantee against incidents, taking this hand pallet truck safety precautions might help promote a safe working environment for all.

Hand Pallet Truck Safety: Store Equipment in Secure Areas

Please, NEVER leave your material handling equipment unattended around customers. You need to make sure that your equipment is in a safe, monitored area. For instance, you can require warehouse spaces to have a keycard entry, or roping off sections to keep customers away from the equipment. You can also rope off single aisles if you know you will be using your heavy equipment in those areas. If this isn’t possible (we hear you grocery store owners and operators), then make sure that hand pallet truck is never unattended. Follow policies that strictly prohibit leaving it in the aisle while other tasks are completed. There are multiple ways to safely store your equipment, and make sure that customers are out of harm’s way. Find what works for you!

Hand Pallet Truck Safety: Track Alternative Routes

We know that being efficient is one of the most important aspects of running a business, but you never want to jeopardize anyone’s safety.  Sometimes coming up with an alternative route with your material handling equipment will help reduce the risk of customer contact. You may need to take a few extra minutes avoiding the most populated sections of your store, but avoiding customers and reducing the risk of a safety issue are highly recommended.

Hand Pallet Truck Safety: Restrict Operator Access

One of the best ways to ensure that your employees are the only ones using the equipment is to have a restricted access on your material handling equipment. If you’re not trained on the proper procedures of using a hand pallet truck in the specific operations in which you are working, then ask to be trained before you use it. Managers should be strictly limiting the use of hand pallet trucks on the retail floor to those who understand how to use them properly around customers.

Safe Use of Hand Pallet Trucks: Use the Proper Equipment

While some companies only need a hand pallet truck on their retail floor, other companies use larger equipment. Every business is different, and that means you need to evaluate your situation. The more equipment you use on the sales floor, the more risk there will be. Make sure you are operating the appropriate product to carefully maintain the safest conditions for your customers.

While these are only a few ways to increase customer safety, there are plenty more to be talked about. Evaluate your business, and make the decisions that work for you. Remember, hand pallet truck safety is the number one priority when using them on the retail floor.

Webmaster note: The practical and written test for pallet truck operators was updated on December 1st 2019. Full details here.

Toyota website