Lift trucks are very dangerous piece of machinery. Statistics by OSHA prove that about 100 warehouse workers are killed every year in forklift mishaps while they are utilizing them. An additional 95,000 workers are hurt on the job every year too, utilizing these heavy pieces of industrial machines.
Most fatalities have been due to forklift turnovers. Being crushed between the forklift and another surface is the second highest percentage of fatalities. The next highest cause of fatality 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. Every injury or death is quite gruesome and awful due to the immense weight and capability of these machinery.
Who Must Perform the Training?
All evaluation and teaching has to be taught by people who have the correct education, knowledge and experience to train powered industrial truck drivers the correct skills and then to assess their competency after that. Several examples of a skilled trainer include an individual who has a certificate, professional standing or specialized degree in their possession, or who has extensive training, knowledge and experience utilizing lift trucks. A good candidate has plenty of practice and has demonstrated the ability to train and evaluate industrial truck operators.
There are resources accessible to choose from if their employer does not want to perform the training themselves. Like for example, they could hire in local health and safety organizations, including 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 which will be glad to offer several great resources.
There are a lot of sites on the Internet that are devoted to forklift safety. Private companies could be found online that offer forklift safety training services, such as videos and written programs. Most safety videos can either be bought or rented or leased. One really important thing to consider is that simply by showing your employees a video or a series of videos about 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 evaluated by a particular way so as to ensure the full training has been acquired.
Once operators have passed their training requirements, they will be given a lift truck license which permits them to drive a lift truck. Valid forklift licenses are a requirement by organizations in order to keep everybody at the workplace really safe.