Do you know a Rainmaker?

Eleven years ago, the Industrial Truck Association (ITA) held its first National Forklift Safety Day. Its mission: to impress upon equipment users, regulators, and policymakers the importance of forklift safety and training. But, as ITA and its members are quick to point out, safety should be a top priority every day, not just during that high-profile annual event.

For those who need an extra nudge to maintain the highest safety standards at all times, here’s another incentive: In 2023, the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) launched a National Emphasis Program targeting warehouses and DCs with high rates of injuries, illness, and “Days Away, Restricted, or Transferred” (DART) reports. OSHA initiated the program in response to rising injury and illness rates that are now twice the average of those in most other industries, according to Celeste Hardy, occupational safety and health education specialist for the North Carolina Department of Labor. That increase is tied to a doubling in the number of warehouse employees in the last decade, due to the expansion of e-commerce warehouses and fulfillment centers, Hardy said in a webcast hosted by Yale Lift Truck Technologies.