The lift truck is a dangerous equipment. The newest data have proven that more than 100 workers are killed in some kind of forklift mishap. 95,000 more employees are hurt on the job every year too, using these heavy pieces of industrial machinery.
Nearly all fatalities have been due to lift truck turnovers. Being crushed between the forklift and another surface is the second highest percentage of fatalities. The third highest cause of death is being struck by the lift truck itself and last of all, getting hit from falling items due to a dropped load is the last statistic. Every injury or fatality is quite gruesome and terrible due to the ability and immense weight of these machines.
Who Must Perform the Training?
All training and evaluation for forklift operation needs to be taught by appropriately trained instructors. These trainers should have the knowledge and experience to train potential operators the necessary skills to assess their competency after that. Several examples of a skilled trainer include an individual who has a certificate, professional standing or specialized degree in their possession, or who has extensive training, knowledge and experience utilizing forklifts. A good candidate has a lot of practice and has demonstrated the ability to evaluate and teach industrial truck drivers.
If the employer does not wish to perform the training himself, there are many resources accessible for them to pick from. Like for example, they can employ 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 usually local vocational and trade schools that will be very glad to provide several great resources.
The internet is full of web sites devoted to the safety of forklifts. There are also private businesses which offer lift truck safety training services, such as videos and written programs. Most safety videos could either be purchased or rented or leased. One really important factor to take into account is that simply by showing your workers a video or a series of videos about forklift safety, does not meet the full requirements of the OSHA standard. Succeeding training and skill of the new operators should be conveyed and evaluated by a specific way in order to make sure that the complete training has been obtained.
Once operators have passed their training requirements, they will receive a lift truck certificate that allows them to drive a forklift. Valid forklift certificates are a requirement by organizations in order to keep everybody at the workplace as safe as possible.