Lift trucks are really dangerous machines. Data by OSHA show that roughly 100 warehouse workers are killed each year in lift truck mishaps while they are operating them. An extra 95,000 employees are hurt on the job each and every year too, utilizing these heavy pieces of industrial machinery.
Unfortunately, most of the fatalities are due to lift truck turnovers. The second highest percentage of fatalities is due to being crushed between a lift truck and another surface. The third highest cause of fatality is being struck by the forklift itself and last of all, getting hit from falling objects due to a dropped load is the last statistic. Each injury or death is quite terrible and gruesome because of the immense weight and ability of these equipment.
Who Must Perform the Training?
All assessment and training needs to be taught by individuals who have the correct training, knowledge and experience to teach powered industrial truck operators the right skills and then to evaluate their competency after that. Several examples of a skilled trainer include an individual who has a license, professional standing or certified degree in their possession, or who has extensive training, experience and knowledge with lift trucks. A good candidate has lots of practice and has shown the capability to evaluate and train industrial truck operators.
There are resources available to choose from if their employer does not wish to perform the training themselves. For example, they can employ in local health and safety organizations, including truck manufacturers, the National Safety Council local chapters, or private training consultants who specialize in powered industrial trucks. There are usually local vocational and trade schools that will be very glad to offer several great resources.
The World Wide Web is full of web sites committed to the safety of lift trucks. There are also private companies that offer lift truck safety training services, such as written programs and videos. The majority of safety videos can either be leased or rented or purchased. One essential thing 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 must be conveyed and assessed by a particular method so as to make sure that the complete training has been obtained.
Once the operator has successfully passed all of the necessary training, a lift truck certificate will be issued and they would legally be able to drive a lift truck. Valid forklift licenses are a requirement by organizations to be able to keep everybody at the workplace really safe.