Some facilities and plants may require the transportation of hazardous goods. When it comes to transporting hazardous goods, you must be extremely careful. To reduce risks of contamination, injury, or product damage, we recommend using a self-dumping forklift dumpster, or hopper, to transport your materials.
If you’ve never used a forklift hopper to safely handle hazardous materials, keep reading this article. In this blog post, we’ll go over important safety tips and how you can integrate these dumpsters into your existing safety plans or programs.
Tips to Help You Stay Safe When Transporting Hazardous Goods
- Create a safety checklist for your hopper. Before your employees use the self-dumping hopper, they should go over this checklist to ensure the hopper is safe to use.
- Inspect your hopper every day. Although forklift dumpsters are durable, they are still subject to wear and tear over time. You should always inspect the hopper before operation. You will want to ensure that all components, including the drum, latch spring, and base, are in good condition.
- Remember to check the safety latch. When you use a forklift hopper, be sure to check that the safety latch is secure and in the lock position at all times.
- Don’t forget to train your employees. Your employees should always receive thorough training before operating the forklift dumpster for the first time.
- The forks should never exceed the length of the hopper’s base. When operating a hopper, once the forks are inserted into the base, you should spread the forks as wide as possible without exceeding the length of the base.
- Tilt the mast back when transporting and dumping the hopper. This prevents the dumpster from slipping off during movement. Then, after tilting the mast back, raise the forks to the correct dumping height and unlock the latch holder.
- The weight of the hazardous goods you’re transporting should never exceed the forklift hopper’s load capacity. When selecting your forklift dumpster, be sure you choose one with the correct load capacity.
- Avoid overload risks. As previously mentioned, you should never go above the load capacity. If you notice that materials are hanging over the sides or falling out, or they’re too tightly packed in the hopper, you have created an overload risk for your forklift.
Creating & Updating Material Handling Safety Plans & Programs
Once you purchase a forklift hopper, you’ll need to consider what new rules or policies need to be added to your material handling safety plan. Safety factors you’ll need to consider are:
- Load Capacity
- Falling Materials
- Securing Latches & Other Devices
- Collisions With Other Equipment
- Maintenance
- Damage & Repairs
Additionally, just like with any new equipment, you’ll want to train your employees on best practices. You’ll also want to ensure that they know how to safely load materials into the hopper. Lastly, you’ll want to make sure that every team member is well-versed and aware of any new policies and rules that are added to your safety plan.
Forklift Dumpster Applications
Still not sure whether a forklift dumpster is worth it? There may be some safety factors to consider, but these types of dumpsters are great for a wide array of applications that produce hazardous waste.
Construction operations may use hoppers to transport demolition materials; woodshops may use them to remove sawdust and wood scrap from the facility; finally, machining and tooling companies could use self-dumping hoppers to transport metal scrap and waste off premises.
Still Have Questions? Contact Roura Today!
Are you thinking about incorporating self-dumping hoppers into your safe material handling process? Let our team at Roura help you. We offer customizable self-dumping forklift dumpsters in a wide range of sizes and load capacities. We also provide add-on features to custom-tailor your forklift hopper to your specific application.
Learn more about our self-dumping hoppers, or fill out our online form today to request a quote.