31.01.2012

An extreme pallet job

A reader in the USA has sent in what is probably the worst example of the classic forklift and pallet method of access we have seen

Spotted in Callaway Florida, it appears that a team of three men were hydro blasting paint from the façade of a tyre store. The pallet looks as though it has been extended to provide a cantilever, the mask is not tilted to help retain the pallet, and according to our correspondent no effort was made to secure the pallet to the forks.
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A crew of three and not a decent piece of access equipment between them

On top of that the man on the pallet is wearing no shoes, the fork truck is working on a sloped driveway and there is no operator.
No need to ask about a safety Harness, traffic or pedestrian cordoning off or other PP Equipment. And all this on a commercial job! A most definite Death Wish.
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Pallet is not fixed, no safety equipment and no shoes

Vertikal Comment

Some of the more extreme cases we get sent in our Death Wish series are on private homes where the home owner cuts corners to carry out a short job… many of us have been guilty of the same. Or they come from the developing world where life can often be cheap and alternatives are far and few between.

This though is in the heart of the most developed aerial lift market and on a commercial job that is going to take a while. Not only that, it is in full view of the highway.

When analysts suggest that the aerial lift market is now mature, or “saturated” examples like this show just how far from the truth that is. When all people like this automatically use the right equipment, not to mention homeowners – then that we might consider the market to be maturing.

In the meantime there is some way to go yet.