Everyone who has ever worked with heavy machinery knows and understands that it is sometimes necessary to improvise to get the job done. This is true, regardless of the industry and the perceived need. That said, some improvisations are generally unsafe and should be avoided at all costs.
Case in point: double-stacking forklifts as a method for moving a giant piece of machinery to a second-floor opening is not the safest way to improvise a solution to a problem. And now, we have a video proving us naysayers correct.
Even at the beginning of the video, it is clear that many bad decisions have already been made before the video starts. The load is on the forks of a small counterbalance forklift, which in turn is parked on the forks of a much larger forklift. Both forklifts have workers operating them. So far, they have managed to raise the very precarious load about halfway to its destination. The driver of the larger forklift is gently moving everything forward, since they have about another ten feet to cover to reach the opening, but as anyone could have guessed going in, the entire contraption tips forward very dangerously before luckily righting itself.
The driver of the larger forklift realizes that his machine is completely out of balance now because he moved the center of gravity so far forward, so he tilts the bottom lift back as far as it can go. At the same time, the man “operating” the smaller forklift raises his forks in a vain attempt to bring the load even with the second-floor opening, which looks like it might work for a split second, until the whole operation comes crashing to the ground. Luckily no one was hurt or killed. One solution would be to use a larger forklift or a crane. Use the right tool for the job.
