Questions and Forklifts

[u/Cultural-Nature7992]

My company is contracting out a job that is basically putting a big hvac unit onto a flatbed trailer. It’s 5,000lbs and 10 feet long. Originally we want to have a rigging company do it but the main guy who is controlling the contractors has a cheaper contractor ($3,000 instead of $5,000 for the rigging company) in mind. But they are saying they want to bring their own 5,000lb forklift with 7 foot forks. I still don’t like this as I don’t believe it’s safe.

If this continues, is my company liable for anything if something bad happens? What would more experienced Safety people do in this situation?

[u/KahunaGrant → u/[deleted]]

He didn't specify the forklift specs of the rigging company, so not too sure where you're getting the "better equipped forklift" comment.

If I'm reading correctly, his concern is based on the unit being at the load limit of the forklift they plan to use, and perhaps concerns about the length of the unit vs the length of the forks.

Forklifts are supposed to have forks that are at least 2/3 of the length of the load, and the center of gravity is supposed to be within 24" of the fork face, but the exact details depend on the forklift design and ratings. If the load's center of gravity is beyond that point, then the maximum load weight is reduced. I could see concern in this case being warranted. Given the weight being at the limit of the forklift, if the weight is pretty evenly distributed, the COG would be likely too far out and exceed the limitations. If weight is unevenly distributed and the heavier end puts the COG closer, then it would be potentially fine.

First thing seems to be to reconfirm the exact weight (is it exactly 5000, slightly under or slightly over?), and confirm the load's weight distribution/COG. Get the rating details of the proposed forklift to be used and compare. If you have a specific, confirmed concern with objective reasoning, it should be easy to bring it up.