The lift truck is a dangerous machinery. The most recent statistics have proven that more than 100 workers are killed in some form of lift truck accident. An extra 95,000 workers are hurt on the job each year too, 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 next highest cause of death is being struck by the lift truck itself and last of all, getting hit from falling things due to a dropped load is the last statistic. Each death or injury is quite terrible and frightening because of the immense weight and capability of these machines.
Who Must Conduct the Training?
All evaluation and training needs to be trained by people who have the appropriate education, knowledge and experience to teach powered industrial truck operators the right skills and then to assess their competency afterwards. Some examples of a qualified trainer consist of an individual who has a license, professional standing or specialized degree in their possession, or who has extensive training, knowledge and experience with lift trucks. A good candidate has a lot of practice and has shown the ability to assess and teach drivers of industrial trucks.
There are resources available to select from if their employer does not wish to perform the training themselves. Like for example, they could employ in local health and safety organizations, including truck manufacturers, the National Safety Council local chapters, or private training consultants who specialize in powered industrial trucks. There are usually local trade and vocational schools that would be really glad to offer several great resources.
There are lots of websites on the World Wide Web who are committed to lift truck safety. Private companies could be found online who provide forklift safety training services, such as written programs and videos. Most safety videos could either be rented or leased or bought. One vital thing to consider 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. Subsequent training and skill of the new drivers needs to be conveyed and evaluated by a particular method in order to ensure the full training has been acquired.
When drivers have passed their training requirements, they would be given a lift truck license that enables them to operate a forklift. Valid lift truck licenses are a requirement by organizations to be able to keep everyone at the workplace very safe.