Lift trucks are really dangerous piece of machinery. Statistics by OSHA show that around 100 warehouse workers are killed each and every year in lift truck accidents while they are operating them. An extra 95,000 employees are hurt on the job each and every year too, using these heavy pieces of industrial machines.
Most fatalities have been because of lift truck turnovers. Being crushed between the forklift and another surface is the next highest percentage of fatalities. The third highest cause of death is being struck by the lift truck itself and lastly, getting hit from falling items because of a dropped load is the last statistic. Every death or injury is quite terrible and frightening because of the immense weight and capability of these machinery.
Who Must Conduct the Training?
All training and evaluation for lift truck operation needs to be trained by properly trained instructors. These trainers should have the experience and knowledge to teach potential operators the necessary skills to assess their competence after that. Some examples of a skilled trainer consist of an individual who has a certificate, professional standing or specialized degree in their possession, or someone who has extensive training, experience and knowledge with forklifts. A good candidate has a lot of practice and has demonstrated the capability to teach and evaluate drivers of industrial trucks.
There are resources available to select from if their employer does not want to perform the training themselves. For example, they could hire in local health and safety organizations, including 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 would be really glad to provide some great resources.
The World Wide Web is full of websites committed to the safety of lift trucks. There are also private companies which provide forklift safety training services, such as written programs and videos. Most safety videos could either be bought or rented or leased. One really essential factor to consider 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 specific method so as to make sure that the complete training has been acquired.
When the operator has successfully passed all of the required training, a lift truck license will be issued and they would legally be able to operate a lift truck. Valid forklift licenses are a requirement by organizations to be able to keep everybody at the workplace very safe.