The lift truck is a dangerous machine. The newest statistics have proven that over 100 workers are killed in some kind of lift truck accident. 95,000 more employees are hurt on the job on a yearly basis too, utilizing these heavy pieces of industrial machines.
Sadly, nearly all of the fatalities are due to lift truck turnovers. The next highest percentage of fatalities is due to being crushed between a lift truck and another surface. The third highest cause of death is being struck by the lift truck itself and last but not least, getting hit from falling objects because of a dropped load is the last statistic. Each death or injury is quite frightening and terrible because of the immense weight and ability of these equipment.
Who Must Perform the Training?
All teaching and assessment for lift truck operation has to be taught by appropriately trained instructors. These trainers must have the knowledge and experience to train potential operators the necessary skills to assess their competence afterwards. Several examples of a qualified trainer include an individual who has a certificate, professional status or specialized degree in their possession, or who has extensive training, experience and knowledge with lift trucks. A good candidate has plenty of practice and has shown the ability to teach and assess industrial truck operators.
If the employer does not wish to perform the training himself, there are many resources accessible for them to pick from. For instance, they could hire in local health and safety organizations, including the National Safety Council local chapters, truck manufacturers, or private teaching consultants who specialize in powered industrial trucks. There are usually local trade and vocational schools which will be happy to provide several great resources.
There are numerous websites on the World Wide Web which are devoted to lift truck safety. Private companies can be found on-line which offer forklift safety training services, like written programs and videos. Most safety videos could either be bought or leased or rented. One really essential thing to consider is that simply by showing your workers a video or a series of videos on forklift safety, does not meet the full requirements of the OSHA standard. Subsequent training and knowledge of the new operators should be conveyed and evaluated by a specific way so as to make sure that the complete training has been obtained.
When the driver has successfully passed all of the required training, a lift truck certificate would be issued and they would legally be able to drive a lift truck. Valid forklift licenses are a requirement by organizations in order to keep everybody at the workplace very safe.