Mechanical Material Handling Q&A: Your questions answered

Mechanical material handling is a significant contributor to traumatic, life-changing injuries and workplace fatalities, says Clinton Brown, WSPS Consultant and Warehouse & Distribution Specialist. “Unfortunately, we are not seeing any improvement in injury and fatality statistics, which means employers need to step up their game to protect workers and their businesses.”

In 2023, 32 fatalities were linked to mechanical material handling, according to the Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development (MLITSD). Seven of these were from crushing injuries and six from being struck by something. 

Mechanical material handling is a top priority for the MLITSD. For the second year in a row, they’re conducting a campaign to raise awareness, increase compliance and drive injury and fatality rates down. Inspections of workplaces focusing on this initiative began in April 2024 and will continue until March 31, 2025.

“It’s important for employers to educate themselves and their workforce about the hazards that can arise during mechanical material handling and put systems and procedures in place to control them,” says Clinton. In the following Q&A, he provides an overview to get you started.

Q&A: Mechanical Material Handling

1. What is mechanical material handling? Mechanical material handling refers to the use of powered equipment, such as forklifts, cranes, conveyor systems and hoists, to move and store materials in a warehouse.

2. What types of hazards and injuries are associated with mechanical material handling? The hazards of mechanical material handling are dependent on the equipment being used, which is why a comprehensive prevention program is required to eliminate them. Common machinery and injury types are listed below.

• Forklifts: struck by and crush injuries. Forklifts, which weigh 6,000 – 10,000 pounds without a load, can collide with people, vehicles, or storage racks. In addition, overloaded forklifts or storage racks can tip or fall. “Incidents involving forklifts are the leading causes of fatalities during mechanical material handling, as well as other traumatic injuries. In 2021, 23 percent of lost-time injuries¹ in Ontario were the result of pedestrians being struck by powered mobile equipment,^,” explains Clinton.

• Conveyors: crush injuries. Lack of guards on conveyors can lead to workers getting their hair, clothes or arms caught in pinch or nip points (areas where moving parts of machinery, such as chains, ropes, or gears, come together), which can lead to crushing injuries, mutilation, amputation or death. 

• Cranes and hoists: crush injuries. “Falling loads are possible when rigging and rigging techniques are incorrect for the application, or when the rigging of material is not inspected and fails as a result of use,” says Clinton. A lack of guards around pinch points on cranes and hoists can also lead to injuries and entrapment. Pinch points can occur around pulleys, sheaves and drums. 

  “Injuries can also occur when operators attempt to stop swinging loads and place themselves between a fixed object and the heavy loads, or crush fingers and hands when attempting to manipulate a load while placing it,” cautions Clinton.

3. What is an employer’s duty under the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA) when it comes to protecting workers during mechanical material handling? The regulation for industrial establishments (Regulation 851) sets out requirements for material handling in sections 45 to 50. Section 51 contains requirements regarding mechanical lifting devices. 

Employers must ensure materials, articles and things are:

• lifted, carried or moved so that a worker is not endangered (section 45(a))
• placed or stored so that they can be withdrawn without endangering the safety of a worker (section 45(b))
• removed from a storage area, pile or rack without endangering the safety of a worker (section 45(c))
• machinery, equipment, or material/product that may tip or fall are secured (section 46)
• that mechanical lifting devices are maintained in good condition, are operated by a competent person and are capable of handling loads (section 51).

In addition, Section 25(2)(h) of the OHSA requires employers to take every reasonable precaution to protect workers. “Section 25(2)(h) is often referenced by an MLITSD inspector when manual material handling concerns exist and are not adequately controlled,” says Clinton.

4. What do I need to do to reduce the risks of injury and fatalities associated with mechanical material handling?  Take the following proactive steps to significantly reduce risks.

• Implement a pedestrian traffic management system. Key components include:
  • designated pedestrian paths
  • barriers or partitions to separate pedestrian areas from vehicle routes
  • signage, including stop signs and warning signs
  • adding blue lights, beacons and alarms to forklifts so they are more visible to pedestrian
• Develop a machine guarding program that’s specific to each type of equipment you are using. Provide training on machine guarding principles, hazard recognition and reporting, proper use and maintenance of machine guards, and lockout/tagout procedures for energy isolation.
• Make sure forklifts/loads are compatible with storage racks. “For example, if you use a sit-down counter-balance forklift in an aisle around a storage rack that’s designed to be used with a narrow aisle reach truck, you are creating a hazard,” says Clinton. “The forklift operator will be forced to put loads in sideways or on a diagonal, which could create instability of the load, and it could fall on a worker, causing injury or death. The same thing can happen if you load material on a racking system that is not capable of bearing its weight.” It’s important to look at the engineering documentation of racking systems to understand their capacity and determine which type of forklift to use. Also, be sure to have a qualified company install your racking systems.

•  Provide training to workers and supervisors. Include safe equipment operating techniques, machine guarding, and load handling and securement. Supervisors need to have at least a theoretical understanding of machine operation to be able to monitor and provide feedback to workers, and to enforce rules. “Ensuring that supervisors are properly trained is a really effective method for employers to ensure a decrease in mechanical material incidents in the workplace,” notes Clinton.

5. Where should I start? “Start with a job hazard analysis to determine what hazards operators, and others working around this equipment, could be exposed to. Involve your joint health and safety committee, engineering and maintenance staff in this exercise,” says Clinton.

Follow up with a risk assessment to verify the likelihood of the hazard resulting in injury, the frequency of exposure to the hazard and the severity of injury. This will help you make informed decisions about what controls are needed to protect workers. Then begin implementing those controls, based on the highest risk hazards.

How WSPS can help

Connect with a WSPS consultant for help carrying out a job hazards analysis and risk assessment and developing controls for equipment used in mechanical material handling, including machine guarding and pedestrian traffic management plans. You can also book a free workplace walk-through with a safety expert to identify material handling-related hazards and offer preliminary recommendations.

Free Webinars

• Develop a Traffic Management Plan and Reduce the Risks (live, 1.5 Hours, January 28, 2025)
• Warehouses - Traffic Management & Pedestrian Safety (pre-recorded)

Resources

• Material handling resources for workers, supervisors and employers - Topics include: conveyor safety, racking, lockout/tagout, pedestrian safety, and safe lifting. Supervisor and employer resources are available in English. The worker resources are available in French, Spanish, Mandarin, Punjabi, Tagalog and English. 
• Safety Check: Storage Rack Safety
• Safety around forklifts, cars, vans and trucks (article)
• Lift Trucks and Other Lifting Devices (article)
• Job Aid - Forklifts
• Pedestrian Safety & Traffic Management (guide)
• Job Aid - Working Around Traffic
• Job Aid - Conveyor Systems
• Recent tragedies put the spotlight on conveyor safety: 5 steps you should know (article)
• Lessons learned from machine guarding-related prosecutions (article) 

Events

• Warehouse Safety Conference, February 25, 2025, Mississauga Convention Centre - In the fast-paced warehouse and distribution industry, staying proactive about health and safety is crucial. Join us to tackle pressing challenges with insights from industry experts on emergency preparedness, security, psychological safety, material handling, contractor management, and more. Equip yourself with the knowledge and tools to enhance operations and ensure a safe, efficient workplace. Find out more and register today. Early bird deadline ends January 31, 2025.

Training

• Inspecting & Maintaining Steel Storage Racks (1 day, online instructor-led training, December 10, 2024, January 25, 2025, or March 21, 2025)
• Crane & Hoist Safety (variety of offerings, onsite). Contact Customer Care at 1-877-494-9777 or 905-614-1400 for more information and to book training. Free for supervisors, managers, and JHSC members.
• Managing Machine Safety (4 hours, online instructor-led)
• Safeguarding of Machinery: Understanding & Applying CSA Z432 (1 day, online instructor-led training, January 23, 2025, March 20, 2025)

 The information in this article is accurate as of its publication date. 

¹ WSIB EIW Database, data pulled as of March 2022