Forklifts are very dangerous machines. Data by OSHA show that about 100 warehouse workers are killed every year in forklift accidents while they are utilizing them. An extra 95,000 employees are injured on the job on a yearly basis as well, utilizing these heavy pieces of industrial machinery.
Unfortunately, most of the fatalities are because of forklift turnovers. The second highest percentage of fatalities is due to being crushed between a lift truck and another surface. The next highest cause of fatality is being struck by the lift truck itself and last of all, getting hit from falling items because of a dropped load is the last statistic. Every injury or death is quite gruesome and terrible due to the immense weight and ability of these equipment.
Who Must Conduct the Training?
All assessment and teaching needs to be trained by individuals who have the proper education, experience and knowledge to train powered industrial truck operators the correct skills and then to evaluate their competency afterwards. Several examples of a skilled trainer comprise a person who has a license, certified degree or professional standing in their possession, or who has extensive training, experience and knowledge using lift trucks. A good candidate has a lot of experience and has demonstrated the capability to evaluate and teach drivers of industrial trucks.
If the employer does not wish to perform the training himself, there are many resources available for them to choose from. Like for instance, they can hire in local health and safety organizations, like the National Safety Council local chapters, truck manufacturers, or private teaching consultants who specialize in powered industrial trucks. There are normally local vocational and trade schools that would be really happy to offer several great resources.
The World Wide Web is full of web sites committed to the safety of lift trucks. There are also private businesses that provide lift truck safety training services, like videos and written programs. The majority of safety videos could either be bought or rented or leased. One vital thing to take into account is that simply by showing your workers a video or a series of videos on lift truck 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 specific way so as to ensure the full training has been obtained.
When the operator has successfully passed all of the necessary training, a lift truck certificate would be given and they will legally be able to drive a lift truck. Valid forklift certificates are a requirement by organizations so as to keep everybody at the workplace as safe as possible.