The forklift is a dangerous machinery. The latest statistics have proven that over 100 employees are killed in some form of lift truck accident. An extra 95,000 employees are injured on the job on an annual basis as well, using these heavy pieces of industrial equipment.
Nearly all fatalities have been because of lift truck turnovers. Being crushed between the lift truck and another surface is the next highest percentage of fatalities. The third highest cause of death is being struck by the forklift itself and lastly, getting hit from falling objects due to a dropped load is the last statistic. Each injury or fatality is quite gruesome and terrible because of the ability and immense weight of these equipment.
Who Must Conduct the Training?
All assessment and training needs to be trained by people who have the right education, experience and knowledge to teach powered industrial truck operators the right skills and then to assess their competency afterwards. Several examples of a skilled trainer consist of an individual who has a license, professional standing or specialized degree in their possession, or someone who has extensive training, knowledge and experience using forklifts. A good candidate has plenty of experience and has demonstrated the capability to evaluate and train drivers of industrial trucks.
If the employer does not wish to perform the training himself, there are many resources accessible for them to pick from. Like for instance, they can hire 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 will be glad to provide several great resources.
There are numerous web sites on the World Wide Web that are committed to forklift safety. Private businesses could be found on-line that offer forklift safety training services, like videos and written programs. Most safety videos can either be rented or leased or bought. One very essential thing to consider is that simply by showing your workers a series of videos or a video about lift truck safety, does not meet the full requirements of the OSHA standard. Subsequent training and skill of the new operators should be conveyed and evaluated by a particular method in order to make sure that the full training has been obtained.
When the operator has successfully passed all of the required training, a lift truck certificate will be issued and they will legally be able to operate a forklift. Valid lift truck certificates are a requirement by organizations so as to keep everybody at the workplace very safe.