I went to Home Depot saturday in my f350 flatbed to get 40 sheets of five ply 1/2cdx. I asked the cashier to get a forklift to load the ply on the truck.
The parking lot has a pretty good slope where I was parked and as the forklift was easing toward the truck to set down the plywood I kept thinking he would slow to a crawl as he set the stuff down.
As it turned out he rammed into the side of the flatbed hard enough to put a small crease in the side of the steel perimeter frame. Really not a big deal aside from the steel will start rusting where he scratched the paint off.
Apparently he was trying to slow down but the weight of the plywood teeter tottered his forklift enough that he didn’t have any traction on his rear drive wheel and couldn’t apply any brakes.
After yelling “WTF, go easy on the truck” I could see that it was really only cosmetic damage. I don’t know what I expected but the guy didn’t say much except he lost traction and couldn’t stop.
Have any of you had this happen? Is this the risk I take when I ask to have the truck forklift loaded or is there some obligation to go easy on the customers vehicle?
In hindsight I should have asked for a couple of 10% off coupons to compensate for the unsolicited ding in the truck.
What would you guys do or what have you done in similar circumstances?
Karl
Replies
G8 just had his tailgate folded by a HD forklift...
they fixed it for him...
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming
WOW!!! What a Ride!
Forget the primal scream, just ROAR!!!
what say you???
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming
WOW!!! What a Ride!
Forget the primal scream, just ROAR!!!
I don't know you always think of things you could of asked for in hind sight. Go back tomarrow ask to talk to the store manager, if you are bummed by he dent, tell him so. Let him know you mean no ill to the driver you are just bummed by the dent. See what he offers, bear in mind the driver should of notified management at the time and an incident report filled out no matter how small. I work retail management home improvement not there or Lowes, but all retail stores large retail requires some type of report be made.
If the driver gets in hot water it won't be the dent it will be for no report.
Could of been worse about 1999 an acident in Idaho and one 6 months prier caused aisles to be shut down when forklift operation are on going.
Atlanta Business Chronicle - by Jim Lovel Staff Writer
Mary Margaret Penturff and her daughter stopped by their local Home Depot in Santa Monica, Calif., on a Sunday afternoon in November 1999 to buy lattice for the patio of the new apartment they were sharing. Moments later, a 75-pound box of wood fell from a shelf 20 feet above the 79-year-old Penturff, leaving her bleeding on the floor with a fatal head wound.
Six months later, on a Sunday of a Memorial Day weekend, the Horner family went to church and a Disney movie before visiting their local Home Depot store in Twin Falls, Idaho, to shop for some things they needed for their new home. Five minutes later, more than 2,000 pounds of kitchen countertops fell about 10 feet from a forklift that was moving them, crushing their 3-year-old daughter, Janessa. She died four hours later at a local hospital.
Two months after that, Jerry Mead, 41, and his brother were shopping in a Home Depot store in Danbury, Conn., when they were hit by 2,000 pounds of falling landscaping timbers. Jerry Mead was killed and his brother was seriously injured.
Be thankfull the cdx did not fall on you.
Wallyo
Edited 2/11/2008 12:43 am ET by wallyo
Wallyo,
Now you have got me thinking. What if he had lost traction 50 feet away from the truck and really had a chance to pick up some momentum? I would hope he would have lowered the forks and skidded to a halt but who knows what could have run in front of him.I am not big on filing incident reports but your post reminds me that problems don't get fixed til someone gets hurt or someone has to pay out big money. I should call in tomorrow and let the manager know that their forklifts shouldn't be leaving level ground with any kind of load based on what happened to my truck. Fortunately it was just a small crease in a piece of steel, it could have been a lot worse though.I still am surprised that the forklift could lift its drive wheel that easily and lose braking (and steering?) control. Karl
Sounds like not only an accident report needs to on file, but you might ask about the operator training program.
The company I work for has an operator certification training course that everyone that operates any piece of equipment must take and pass. There are also annual and biannual re-certifications, depending on the type of equipment.
Forklifts should be backed down any slope. Driving one forward ,downhill, with the load elevated enough to place it on a flatbed truck is a big no no. I forget what the ratio is, but for every foot of mast lift there is a corresponding (higher) number of ponds of lift on the opposite end of the equipment. Crane operators know this with every lift. Forklift operators have to have it constantly reinforced to them because 98% of the time they are operating on flat warehouse type floors.
I'm not sure if operator certification is an OSHA reg. or DOT reg. or not. Probably OSHA, and I would bet HD may be out of compliance on this issue.
Get your truck fixed or settle with them, but also put them on notice that their operator training is lacking. The accident should never have happened!
Dave
Most fork lifts have very little thread or slicks on them they are not good at breaking and slide very easily on ice or water. As some posters said they are designed for flat level ground in a warehouse. With the exception of all terran units.Just curious why did he load in the parking lot, didn't they have a load out portico by the lumber area? Fork lift accidents happen everywhere we just here about the ones at lowes and HD, because we have a love hate relationship with them, and there size. There was an accident just last month in NY at a small family business.http://www.nydailynews.com/news/2008/01/20/2008-01-20_teen_crushed_to_death_by_forklift.htmlfork lift accident new YorkTeen crushed to death by forklift
BY BRENDAN BROSH and CARRIE MELAGO
DAILY NEWS WRITERS
Sunday, January 20th 2008, 4:35 PMA boy's trip to his father's work site ended in disaster Saturday when the 13-year-old sneaked off to drive a forklift and was crushed to death when the 5,000-pound machine flipped over, police said.
Kevin Hrcka hopped onto the red forklift on the grounds of Miron Building Supply in Ridgewood, Queens, while his dad changed clothes near the end of his shift, officials said.
Using keys left in the ignition, Kevin revved the forklift's motor and then sped forward about 100 feet before attempting to turn right, witnesses said. The vehicle spun out and flipped, crushing the teen's skull.According to the law firm of Orlow, Orlow & Orlow, can you say nepotism, there are 20,000 injuries and a 100 deaths every year from forklifts. They have some fork lift facts at there site that may help us all.http://www.orlowlaw.com/PracticeAreas/Forklift.aspWallyo
Edited 2/11/2008 11:38 am ET by wallyo
Moore-Handley, 1982
8k lift loading a house pkg on the big truck sets the bundle on the flatbed.
New Dodge truck owner/customer parks behind forklift as it's shifting the load forward.
Forklift driver exits quickly to leave the bundle.
New Dodge truck recieves a new driver's door/fender/fender/frame "feature" as the lift hits it at full speed.
I, fortunately, was too young an employee to be the driver of said forklift.
Liberty = Freedom from unjust or undue governmental control.
American Heritage Dictionary
A few years back my tailgate was crushed by a forklift at Menard’s. I spoke with the manager. He was very polite and helpful. Their insurance company contacted me, and with an estimate from a local body shop I received a check very quickly. I can’t remember exactly how long but I remember it not being long. Hope things go as well for you as they did for me.
The guy should have the proper training and cary proof.(per OSHA) The driver should have known to back down the slope and approach from the other side. You can tell as soon as you move how stable the load is. You should file a report, talk to the store manager, maybe even call OSHA to make sure the operators are properly trained. The guy could have killed someone.
Ted
I would have went and talked the store manager, then after getting even more pissed off by the ineptitude of the store manager I would have called their corporate office and worked my way up the chain until somebody could actually do something.
Then they would have paid to fix my truck and I would have got a 100 gift card.
At least that's what happened when some numb-nuts dented the rear quarter panel of my 3 week old truck by dropping a piece of scaffold we were renting against it...
I wouldn't have been to pissed, accidents happen, but the jack asz sort of smiled and laughed about it. I think he laughed because he was nervous, but still...
I wouldn't get excited at all. I know my work trucks are just that, work trucks. I almost expect them to get a few bumps and bruises, so I don't get bent outta shape.
But, BUT..If someone did something that made it unable to be driven and put me out of transportation,I'm pretty sure someone will have some explaining to do and reciprocity for the inconvenience caused.
My F350 looks like hell, mostly from prev. owner, and that sometimes could make some people less caring in dropping a load in the bed, and that is the wrong attitude, but it happens.
I had one fork driver deciding how to load 2 skids of cedar shingles in with my gooseneck ball in the way, he finally said, "Here, it's your truck, you want to load em?'' and proceeded to get off the fork lift..so I did.
Haven't had the chance yet to see how much I can bang up the van (G)
Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
"Success is not spontaneous combustion, you have to set yourself on Fire"
Thanks for the input everyone. I should find out who monitors the forklift activities and suggest they do more comprehensive training on the risks of running the forklifts in the parking lot.
This home depot doesnt have a loading area outfront. I offered to pull up outfront but was told it was fine where it was parked
I am just glad no one was between the forklift and the truck and that it is a flatbed that is destined to collect dings
Karl