Forklifts are very dangerous piece of machinery. Statistics by OSHA show that approximately 100 warehouse workers are killed each and every year in lift truck mishaps while they are utilizing them. An extra 95,000 workers are hurt on the job on a yearly basis as well, utilizing these heavy pieces of industrial machinery.
Nearly all fatalities have been because of forklift turnovers. Being crushed between the forklift and another surface is the second highest percentage of fatalities. The next highest cause of death is being struck by the forklift itself and lastly, getting hit from falling things due to a dropped load is the last statistic. Each fatality or injury is quite awful and gruesome due to the capability and immense weight of these equipment.
Who Should Conduct the Training?
All assessment and training needs to be trained by people who have the right education, experience and knowledge to teach powered industrial truck operators the right skills and then to evaluate their competence afterwards. Some examples of a skilled trainer consist of a person who has a license, specialized degree or professional standing in their possession, or somebody who has extensive training, experience and knowledge using lift trucks. A good candidate has a lot of practice and has shown the ability to assess and teach drivers of industrial trucks.
If the employer does not want to perform the training himself, there are numerous resources available for them to choose from. Like for instance, they can hire in local health and safety organizations, like truck manufacturers, the National Safety Council local chapters, or private teaching consultants who specialize in powered industrial trucks. There are often local trade and vocational schools which will be happy to provide several great resources.
There are a lot of sites on the Internet who are devoted to lift truck safety. Private companies could be found on line which provide lift truck safety training services, like written programs and videos. Nearly all safety videos could either be purchased or rented or leased. One important factor to consider is that simply by showing your employees a video or a series of videos on 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 particular method so as to ensure the complete training has been obtained.
When the driver has successfully passed all of the necessary training, a lift truck certificate would be given and they will legally be able to drive a lift truck. Valid forklift licenses are a requirement by organizations in order to keep everybody at the workplace very safe.