The forklift is a dangerous machine. The newest statistics have proven that more than 100 employees are killed in some type of lift truck accident. 95,000 more workers are injured on the job on an annual basis too, utilizing these heavy pieces of industrial equipment.
Sadly, most of the fatalities are due to lift truck turnovers. The next highest percentage of fatalities is due to being crushed between a forklift and another surface. The next highest cause of fatality is being struck by the lift truck itself and lastly, getting hit from falling items due to a dropped load is the last statistic. Each injury or fatality is quite terrible and gruesome because of the capability and immense weight of these machines.
Who Must Conduct the Training?
All training and evaluation for lift truck operation has to be trained by correctly trained instructors. These trainers should have the experience and knowledge to train potential operators the necessary skills to evaluate their competency afterwards. Some examples of a skilled trainer include a person who has a certificate, professional status or certified degree in their possession, or who has extensive training, knowledge and experience using forklifts. A good candidate has a lot of experience and has demonstrated the ability to teach and evaluate industrial truck operators.
There are resources available to select from if their employer does not want to perform the training themselves. For example, they could employ in local health and safety organizations, like for instance the National Safety Council local chapters, truck manufacturers, or private training consultants who specialize in powered industrial trucks. There are normally local trade and vocational schools that would be really happy to offer some great resources.
There are lots of websites on the Internet who are devoted to forklift safety. Private businesses could be found online which offer lift truck safety training services, like written programs and videos. The majority of safety videos could either be rented or leased or bought. One vital 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 skill of the new operators must be conveyed and assessed by a specific way in order to ensure the full training has been obtained.
When the operator has successfully passed all of the necessary training, a forklift certificate will be given and they will legally be able to drive a forklift. Valid lift truck certificates are a requirement by organizations so as to keep everyone at the workplace as safe as possible.