The lift truck is a dangerous machine. The most recent statistics have proven that over 100 workers are killed in some kind of forklift accident. 95,000 more employees are injured on the job on an annual basis as well, using these heavy pieces of industrial equipment.
Nearly all fatalities have been due to forklift 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 forklift itself and lastly, getting hit from falling things because of a dropped load is the last statistic. Each injury or fatality is quite frightening and awful due to the capability and immense weight of these machinery.
Who Must Conduct the Training?
All teaching and evaluation for lift truck operation has to be taught by appropriately trained instructors. These trainers should have the knowledge and experience to teach potential operators the required skills to assess their competence afterwards. Several examples of a qualified trainer include a person who has a license, specialized degree or professional status in their possession, or someone who has extensive training, experience and knowledge with forklifts. A good candidate has a lot of experience and has shown the ability to train and evaluate industrial truck operators.
There are resources available to select from if their employer does not want to perform the training themselves. For instance, 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 normally local trade and vocational schools which will be really glad to offer several great resources.
The World Wide Web is full of web sites devoted to the safety of forklifts. There are also private companies that provide lift truck safety training services, such as written programs and videos. Nearly all safety videos can either be rented or leased or bought. One important thing to take into account is that simply by showing your employees a series of videos or a video on lift truck safety, does not meet the full requirements of the OSHA standard. Subsequent training and knowledge of the new drivers should be conveyed and assessed by a particular way in order to ensure the complete training has been acquired.
Once operators have passed their training requirements, they would receive a lift truck certificate that enables them to operate a lift truck. Valid forklift certificates are a requirement by organizations so as to keep everyone at the workplace very safe.