Forklifts are very dangerous piece of machinery. Statistics by OSHA prove that about 100 warehouse employees are killed each and every year in forklift mishaps while they are operating them. 95,000 more employees are hurt on the job each and every year too, utilizing these heavy pieces of industrial equipment.
Unfortunately, most of the fatalities are because of lift truck turnovers. The second highest percentage of fatalities is due to being crushed between a forklift and another surface. The third highest cause of death is being struck by the forklift itself and last but not least, getting hit from falling objects due to a dropped load is the last statistic. Each and every injury or fatality is quite terrible and frightening due to the ability and immense weight of these machines.
Who Should Conduct the Training?
All teaching and assessment for lift truck operation needs to be taught by appropriately trained instructors. These trainers must have the experience and knowledge to teach potential operators the necessary skills to evaluate their competency afterwards. Some examples of a qualified trainer include an individual who has a certificate, certified degree or professional status in their possession, or somebody who has extensive training, experience and knowledge with lift trucks. A good candidate has plenty of practice and has demonstrated the capability to evaluate and train industrial truck drivers.
If the employer does not want to perform the training himself, there are many resources available for them to select from. For example, they can employ in local health and safety organizations, like for example the National Safety Council local chapters, truck manufacturers, or private training consultants who specialize in powered industrial trucks. There are often local vocational and trade schools that would be very happy to offer several great resources.
There are lots of sites on the World Wide Web which are committed to forklift safety. Private businesses could be found on-line that provide forklift safety training services, such as videos and written programs. Nearly all safety videos could either be bought or leased or rented. One important factor to think about is that simply by showing your workers a series of videos or a video about forklift safety, does not meet the full requirements of the OSHA standard. Succeeding training and knowledge of the new drivers has to be conveyed and evaluated by a particular method in order to ensure the full training has been obtained.
Once drivers have passed their training requirements, they will receive a lift truck certificate which permits them to operate a forklift. Valid lift truck licenses are a requirement by organizations in order to keep everyone at the workplace as safe as possible.