Submitted by Steve Winicker.
LAST WEEKENDS SHOP ACTIVITY
Over the weekend additional paint was applied to the boiler barrel along with more filling and sanding of the tender. Several parts were sand blasted. Friday was devoted to cleaning the engine, working on repair of the sand dome and great thinking. That went quite well. Saturday, we worked on getting insulation on the engine. About 12 feet of the boiler was covered on Saturday. In the mean time Rich emptied out more box car stuff and DJ did some planning on how to attack the box car. Sunday, more insulation was installed and fun was had by all.
UPCOMING ACTIVITIES
Setting up for painting the tender will be an early weekend project. Cleaning grease under the engine and putting insulation on the boiler will also be available as an alternate activity.
SAFETY SENSE
Forklifts are excellent labor-saving devices. They save time and reduce the likelihood of injury associated with manual material handling activities. However, forklifts can become very dangerous if operated by a reckless or untrained operator. All operators should receive safety training prior to being allowed to operate a forklift.
Forklift accidents tend to be very serious, involving both personal injury and damage to property. These accidents can be avoided if operators use some common sense and follow safe operating procedures. Do not operate a forklift until you have been properly trained and authorized to do so.
Here are a few common safety rules to follow during forklift operation:
Use the seat belt. It will keep you secured in the seat in the unplanned event of a tip over.
A parked forklift should have the forks flat on the floor with the controls set to neutral and with the parking brake set.
A forklift is considered to be “unattended” if the operator is more than 25 feet away or if the forklift is out of the direct vision of the operator. Unattended forklifts should be parked with the engine turned off.
When operating the forklift on inclines, the load should always be on the uphill side of the incline. Drive forward going up the incline. Drive backward going down the incline.
When traveling without a load on the forks, keep the forks approximately four to six inches off the floor.
Never allow anyone to walk underneath a raised load.
Stop at all blind corners to check for other traffic in the area including pedestrians. Honk your horn and look before you proceed.
If carrying a tall load that blocks your forward vision, drive in reverse and turn your head so you can see where you are going.
If operating around another forklift, maintain a three-forklift length distance between forklifts and never attempt passing.
Never drive a forklift up to the back of a person who is unaware that the forklift is behind them.
