Forklifts are very dangerous piece of machinery. Data by OSHA prove that approximately 100 warehouse employees are killed each and every year in lift truck mishaps while they are using them. An additional 95,000 workers are hurt on the job on an annual basis too, utilizing these heavy pieces of industrial machinery.
Most fatalities have been due to forklift turnovers. Being crushed between the forklift and another surface is the second highest percentage of fatalities. The next highest cause of fatality is being struck by the lift truck itself and last but not least, getting hit from falling objects due to a dropped load is the last statistic. Every injury or fatality is quite frightening and awful because of the capability and immense weight of these equipment.
Who Should Conduct the Training?
All teaching and assessment for lift truck operation needs to be trained by properly trained instructors. These trainers should have the knowledge and experience to teach potential operators the required skills to assess their competency after that. Some examples of a qualified trainer consist of a person who has a license, professional status or specialized degree in their possession, or who has extensive training, experience and knowledge using lift trucks. A good candidate has lots of experience and has shown the ability to teach and assess drivers of industrial trucks.
If the employer does not wish to perform the training himself, there are many resources available for them to choose from. Like for example, they could hire in local health and safety organizations, like for example truck manufacturers, the National Safety Council local chapters, or private training consultants who specialize in powered industrial trucks. There are often local trade and vocational schools that would be very happy to provide several great resources.
There are lots of web sites on the Internet that are dedicated to forklift safety. Private businesses can be found on-line that provide forklift safety training services, such as videos and written programs. Nearly all safety videos could either be bought or leased or rented. One important thing to take into consideration is that simply by showing your employees a series of videos or a video about lift truck safety, does not meet the full requirements of the OSHA standard. Subsequent training and knowledge of the new operators should be conveyed and assessed by a particular way so as to ensure the full training has been acquired.
Once operators have passed their training requirements, they will receive a lift truck license that allows them to drive a forklift. Valid lift truck licenses are a requirement by organizations to be able to keep everybody at the workplace as safe as possible.