Training is conducted in classrooms and in the plant for all employees. Mandatory refresher courses are offered every two years. This was the first work related fatality in the company's history. Each truck is positioned on the concrete floor of the warehouse and forklifts are used for loading the drywall. Four trucks can be loaded at one time in this warehouse space.
All surfaces are flat and dry and the area is well lit with interior lights.
Each truck is loaded with varying sizes of drywall, loaded in flat stacks separated by risers or sleutter strips. A two-man crew loads each truck, one driving the forklift, the other gathering and positioning the sleutter strips. Each truck is loaded from the sides, the forklift approaching the truck perpendicularly. Occasionally the forklift driver will leave his machine to help with positioning the sleutter strips. Before doing this the correct procedure is to lower the load and set the manual parking brake which disengages the transmission, preventing forward or reverse movement of the forklift.