No such thing as too safe

Safety is a major concern for any fabricator and manufacturer. Employee welfare is of the utmost importance.

There’s also the bottom-line to consider. Employee injuries take a toll. The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA), describes these costs:

“In addition to their social costs, workplace injuries and illnesses have a major impact on an employer's bottom line. It has been estimated that employers pay almost $1 billion per week for direct workers' compensation costs alone. The costs of workplace injuries and illnesses include direct and indirect costs. Direct costs include workers' compensation payments, medical expenses, and costs for legal services. Examples of indirect costs include training replacement employees, accident investigation and implementation of corrective measures, lost productivity, repairs of damaged equipment and property, and costs associated with lower employee morale and absenteeism.”

So it makes good sense to provide a safe working environment. However, job-related accidents can happen despite all measures taken to prevent them. Some are very serious and some are less so, but all are concerning. None more so then an accident that leads to a fatality.

Just this week, an equipment company employee picking up a forklift for repair from an industrial facility in Belvidere, Ill., died as the result of an unusual accident. Chris Thick, 36, had driven a forklift onto a flatbed truck, parked it, and jumped to the ground. The forklift then began to slide backwards and off the truck, striking Thick, who was killed. The preliminary cause of death was blunt trauma to the head.

Without knowing more details, it’s impossible to know how often Thick performed this activity, but it could be that he has done it before without incident. That’s the thing about accidents, they can happen when you least expect them. That’s also the reason that you can never be too careful or safe. No matter how many times you’ve done something without incurring a problem, don’t become complacent about the activity. Double check that all safety measures have been followed and check again.

This was a sad day for the Thick family, his community, his employer, and company where the accident occurred.

A GoFundMe page has been set up for Thick’s family, which the website says lost everything in a tornado that hit their home in April, 2015.