August 22, 2023

New employee training and loading forklifts

As a service to our policyholders, Texas Mutual shares serious workplace injury trends based on catastrophic injuries and fatalities reported to our claims department. Not all of these reported injuries are covered by workers’ compensation, but our goal is to help you ensure these types of incidents do not happen in your workplace. Find safety tips below to help keep your employees safe on the job.

If you have questions, we encourage you to contact our safety services support center at 844-WORKSAFE (967-5723) or safety@texasmutual.com.

In this alert:

• New employee training
• Loading forklifts

New employee training

Employees who have been on the job for less than six months were involved in about one-third of the more serious claims reported to Texas Mutual over the last 60 days. This group has also been involved in almost half of the more serious slips, trips and falls accidents.

It’s important for employers to provide a new employee orientation. Involving new hires in a workplace safety and health program helps to make them more aware of workplace hazards. New employees can also take steps to stay safe while they learn on the job.

• Never conduct a task or use equipment that you haven’t been trained on.
• Wear appropriate personal protective equipment and care for items as instructed by your supervisor.
• Be cautious and aware of your surroundings.
• Ask questions when you don’t understand a task or a hazard.
• Listen to the guidance and feedback of tenured employees and supervisors.

Properly loading forklifts

An employee was using a forklift to unload freight from a trailer. The employee noticed a crate hanging over the edge of the trailer and left the forklift to push the crate further back onto the trailer. Unfortunately, the crate fell onto the employee and caused serious injuries.

Before using a forklift, operators should be trained on proper procedures for loading and unloading a forklift.

• Do not exceed the forklift’s rated capacity.
• Ensure the load is stable and centered before moving the forklift.
• Stay alert for people, vehicles and other obstacles in the area.
• Continuously monitor the forklift and the load, stopping if conditions become unsafe.
• Do not leave the forklift unattended during operation.

Get free safety resources

Texas Mutual policyholders have access to thousands of free training materials in our multimedia safety resource center, including our safety catalog with up-to-date resources.

To access the free materials, log in to your texasmutual.com account and select Safety. If you need help accessing the safety resource center or you have a workplace safety question, call us toll-free at 844-WORKSAFE (967-5723).

Download a PDF (490KB) version of the August Safety Alert.