Specific OSHA requirements need to be met so as to utilize any kind of lift truck. A lot of the businesses utilizing lift trucks would offer basic training to the other office and sales employees in addition to visitors and other non operators who might venture into the distribution areas. Even though OSHA doesn't particularly address forklift pedestrian training, the OSHA General Duty Clause dictates that employers need to take measures in order to protect employees from certain risks, such as pedestrians exposed to moving lift trucks.
A huge problem which would need to be dealt with is pedestrian safety. According to the NIOSH or the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health; about 20% of all forklift accidents consist of a pedestrian being struck by a forklift. This statistic means approximately 19,000 people each and every year.
So as to keep everybody safe, there are several basic steps which should be taken into account. This is regardless to how briefly or frequently individuals are around industrial trucks during their work day. Among the major considerations is that lift truck pedestrian accidents often occur in cases where the pedestrian is not aware of safety measures. Problems also occur more frequently when the pedestrian has become used to frequent interaction with forklifts and ends up complacent.
There are several common situations to look out for so as to avoid placing yourself at potential risk from being struck by a lift truck. Pedestrians not seeing the lift truck is a common issue which has to be dealt with. Numerous operations have varying degrees of intersections or blind corners that pedestrians should be aware of. Sometimes pedestrians do not hear the lift truck. Be careful of the various kinds of power sources. For instance, electric trucks could be a lot quieter than IC engines that are really loud.
The other main issues are when pedestrians come in too near the equipment. Common sense tells us that in order for a pedestrian to be injured by a forklift, the pedestrian needs to be in close enough proximity to be struck. For a forklift that is running, a four foot safety zone is recommended so as to make a safe perimeter for everybody. This helps to deal with risks like the model driving accidentally over the foot of a pedestrian.
To make sure that the workplace safety stays top notch and remains paramount, following and the implementation of strict safety protocol is important.