The lift truck is a dangerous equipment. The most recent statistics have proven that over 100 employees are killed in some form of lift truck accident. 95,000 more employees are injured on the job on a yearly basis as well, utilizing these heavy pieces of industrial equipment.
Nearly all fatalities have been because of forklift turnovers. Being crushed between the lift truck and another surface is the second highest percentage of fatalities. The third highest cause of death is being struck by the forklift itself and last of all, getting hit from falling items due to a dropped load is the last statistic. Each and every injury or fatality is quite awful and gruesome due to the ability and immense weight of these machines.
Who Must Conduct the Training?
All teaching and evaluation for forklift operation needs to be taught by properly trained instructors. These trainers should have the knowledge and experience to train potential operators the required skills to assess their competency after that. Some examples of a skilled trainer include a person who has a license, specialized degree or professional status in their possession, or who has extensive training, experience and knowledge with lift trucks. A good candidate has a lot of experience and has demonstrated the ability to train and assess industrial truck operators.
If the employer does not want to perform the training himself, there are numerous resources accessible for them to select from. Like for instance, they can hire in local health and safety organizations, like truck manufacturers, the National Safety Council local chapters, or private training consultants who specialize in powered industrial trucks. There are often local trade and vocational schools which will be very glad to provide some great resources.
There are numerous sites on the Internet who are devoted to forklift safety. Private companies could be found online who provide forklift safety training services, such as videos and written programs. Nearly all safety videos can either be purchased or leased or rented. One really essential factor to consider is that simply by showing your employees a series of videos or a video about forklift safety, does not meet the full requirements of the OSHA standard. Succeeding training and skill of the new drivers should be conveyed and assessed by a particular way in order to make sure that the full training has been acquired.
Once operators have passed their training requirements, they will receive a forklift license which allows them to drive a lift truck. Valid forklift licenses are a requirement by organizations in order to keep everyone at the workplace as safe as possible.