Lift trucks are really dangerous piece of machinery. Statistics by OSHA prove that roughly 100 warehouse workers are killed each year in forklift mishaps while they are operating them. 95,000 more employees are hurt on the job on an annual basis too, utilizing these heavy pieces of industrial equipment.
Sadly, most of the fatalities are because of lift truck turnovers. The next highest percentage of fatalities is due to being crushed between a lift truck and another surface. The next highest cause of fatality is being struck by the lift truck itself and lastly, getting hit from falling things due to a dropped load is the last statistic. Each injury or death is quite terrible and gruesome due to the immense weight and capability of these equipment.
Who Must Perform the Training?
All training and assessment for lift truck operation has to be taught by properly trained instructors. These trainers should have the knowledge and experience to teach potential operators the required skills to evaluate their competency afterwards. Some examples of a qualified trainer include a person who has a license, certified degree or professional standing in their possession, or someone who has extensive training, knowledge and experience with forklifts. A good candidate has lots of practice and has shown the ability to train and assess industrial truck drivers.
There are resources accessible to select from if their employer does not wish to perform the training themselves. For instance, they could employ in local health and safety organizations, like for instance the National Safety Council local chapters, truck manufacturers, or private teaching consultants who specialize in powered industrial trucks. There are often local trade and vocational schools which would be very glad to provide several great resources.
The World Wide Web is full of sites devoted to the safety of lift trucks. There are also private companies that offer forklift safety training services, such as written programs and videos. Most safety videos could either be rented or leased or bought. One really vital thing to consider is that simply by showing your employees a video or a series of videos 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 assessed by a particular method in order to make certain that the full training has been obtained.
When the operator has successfully passed all of the necessary training, a forklift certificate will be issued and they will legally be able to operate a lift truck. Valid forklift certificates are a requirement by organizations to be able to keep everyone at the workplace as safe as possible.