The forklift battery removal and maintenance room is, metaphorically speaking, the beating heart of any warehouse. Without forklift batteries that are kept in good working condition, your fleet of forklift trucks is essentially crippled, wasting time, money and effort on everyone’s behalf.
Just as it’s essential to protect your forklift batteries, it’s equally essential to protect your personnel from these batteries’ hazards. And without the right safety equipment, forklift battery removal and maintenance becomes significantly more dangerous.
Is your forklift battery room as safe as it should be? To improve the health and safety of your personnel, it’s imperative — and often required — that your battery room have these three key safety features:
Eye wash station
Even if your warehouse’s battery room personnel are wearing eye goggles, accidents happen — and one’s eyes could become exposed to the highly-corrosive acid contained within a forklift battery during regular maintenance. When this happens, every second one’s eyes is exposed to these materials is incredibly harmful. All battery rooms should thus have a functioning, easily-reachable eye wash station installed.
Ventilation
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) requires all warehouse battery rooms to be equipped with ventilation. During routine charging procedures, forklift batteries generate hydrogen gas, which can be fatal if it enters the air at certain concentrations. Ventilation in all areas where forklift battery removal takes place is essential.
Personal protective equipment (PPE)
As stated before, all personnel should be wearing goggles while handling forklift batteries. Additionally, they should never handle a forklift battery without also wearing rubber gloves, aprons, facial protection and steel-toed boots. This personal protective equipment will keep personnel safe from the many dangers associated with forklift batteries.
Have any other questions for us about maintaining battery room safety or preserving battery handling safety with the right forklift battery handling equipment management? Feel free to ask us by leaving a comment below.