Lift trucks are extremely dangerous piece of machinery. Statistics by OSHA prove that around 100 warehouse workers are killed each and every year in forklift accidents while they are utilizing them. 95,000 more workers are injured on the job on a yearly basis as well, using these heavy pieces of industrial machinery.
Unfortunately, nearly all of the fatalities are because of forklift turnovers. The next highest percentage of fatalities is due to being crushed between a lift truck and another surface. The next highest cause of death is being struck by the lift truck itself and lastly, getting hit from falling objects because of a dropped load is the last statistic. Every death or injury is quite terrible and gruesome due to the immense weight and ability of these machinery.
Who Must Perform the Training?
All training and evaluation for forklift operation needs to be taught by properly trained instructors. These trainers must have the knowledge and experience to teach potential operators the required skills to evaluate their competency afterwards. Some examples of a qualified trainer include an individual who has a certificate, professional standing or certified degree in their possession, or someone who has extensive training, knowledge and experience with lift trucks. A good candidate has a lot of experience and has shown the capability to evaluate and train industrial truck drivers.
If the employer does not wish to perform the training himself, there are numerous resources accessible for them to pick from. For example, they could hire in local health and safety organizations, including the National Safety Council local chapters, truck manufacturers, or private teaching consultants who specialize in powered industrial trucks. There are usually local vocational and trade schools that will be happy to provide several great resources.
The World Wide Web is full of websites devoted to the safety of lift trucks. There are also private companies that offer lift truck safety training services, like written programs and videos. The majority of safety videos can either be purchased or rented or leased. One vital thing to take into consideration is that simply by showing your workers a video or a series of videos on lift truck safety, does not meet the full requirements of the OSHA standard. Subsequent training and skill of the new drivers should be conveyed and assessed by a specific way so as to make certain that the full training has been obtained.
When the driver has successfully passed all of the necessary training, a forklift license would be issued and they would legally be able to operate a forklift. Valid lift truck certificates are a requirement by organizations so as to keep everybody at the workplace as safe as possible.