Lift trucks are really dangerous piece of machinery. Data by OSHA prove that about 100 warehouse employees are killed each and every year in forklift mishaps while they are using them. 95,000 more workers are injured on the job every year too, utilizing these heavy pieces of industrial machinery.
Most fatalities have been due to lift truck turnovers. Being crushed between the forklift and another surface is the next highest percentage of fatalities. The third highest cause of fatality is being struck by the lift truck itself and lastly, getting hit from falling objects due to a dropped load is the last statistic. Each death or injury is quite gruesome and awful because of the immense weight and ability of these machinery.
Who Must Perform the Training?
All evaluation and training needs to be trained by individuals who have the correct training, experience and knowledge to train powered industrial truck operators the right skills and then to evaluate their competence after that. Several examples of a skilled trainer consist of an individual who has a certificate, professional standing or certified degree in their possession, or somebody who has extensive training, experience and knowledge utilizing forklifts. A good candidate has lots of practice and has shown the ability to teach and assess drivers of industrial trucks.
There are resources accessible to choose from if their employer does not wish to perform the training themselves. Like for instance, they can hire in local health and safety organizations, like for instance truck manufacturers, the National Safety Council local chapters, or private teaching consultants who specialize in powered industrial trucks. There are often local vocational and trade schools that will be really happy to provide some great resources.
The internet is full of sites dedicated to the safety of forklifts. There are also private companies that provide forklift safety training services, such as written programs and videos. Most safety videos could either be rented or leased or bought. One important factor to think about is that simply by showing your workers a series of videos or a video about forklift safety, does not meet the full requirements of the OSHA standard. Subsequent training and skill of the new operators must be conveyed and evaluated by a specific method in order to ensure the complete training has been obtained.
When operators have passed their training requirements, they will receive a lift truck license that permits them to operate a lift truck. Valid lift truck certificates are a requirement by organizations in order to keep everybody at the workplace as safe as possible.