The UK Material Handling Association (UKMHA) has issued a jacking and blocking safety alert after a serious hand injury to an engineer. 

The incident happened when the engineer jacked up a reach truck to check for free play in the steering bearing fitted to the top of the final drive gearbox. The engineer held on to the drive wheel in order to check for excessive play in the bearing. 

The truck slipped off the jack and trapped the third and fourth finger of the engineer’s right hand between the wheel and the floor. The injuries to engineer’s hand included cuts, crushing and fractures. 

The truck was only supported by the jack at the time of the incident. It had not been lowered onto supporting blocks, leaving the jack as the only load support for the task, which is unsuitable equipment to carry out this task. 

The UKMHA safety alert identifies a number of contributory factors for this particular incident, including inappropriate equipment, inadequate training, failure to ensure a safe working area and a lack of proper job planning. 

David Goss, Technical Director at UKMHA said: “No work should be carried out under any load that is supported by a jack. Failure to ensure adequate support of the load was very hazardous, and this incident could have led to far more serious injuries.” 

He continued: “Our safety alert provides advice for those maintaining and servicing material handling equipment. We advise them to follow the guidelines as laid out in the safety alert and the associated jacking and blocking safety awareness video.” 

The UKMHA plays a vital role in promoting improved safety standards within the material handling industry in the UK. The key aim is to ensure that the safety of its members and the wider industry is of paramount importance. 

The Safety Alert is available to download from the UKMHA website: https://bit.ly/3KJxFuC 

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