Forklifts are really dangerous piece of machinery. Statistics by OSHA show that about 100 warehouse employees are killed each year in forklift mishaps while they are using them. An extra 95,000 workers are injured on the job on an annual basis too, using these heavy pieces of industrial equipment.
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 forklift itself and lastly, getting hit from falling items because of a dropped load is the last statistic. Every injury or death is quite gruesome and awful because of the immense weight and ability of these machinery.
Who Should Conduct the Training?
All evaluation and training needs to be trained by individuals who have the proper education, experience and knowledge to teach powered industrial truck drivers the correct skills and then to evaluate their competency afterwards. Some examples of a qualified trainer consist of an individual who has a certificate, specialized degree or professional standing in their possession, or who has extensive training, experience and knowledge with forklifts. A good candidate has a lot of practice and has demonstrated the capability to teach and assess industrial truck drivers.
There are resources available to choose from if their employer does not want to perform the training themselves. Like for instance, they can hire in local health and safety organizations, like for instance the National Safety Council local chapters, truck manufacturers, or private training consultants who specialize in powered industrial trucks. There are usually local vocational and trade schools which would be very glad to offer several great resources.
The World Wide Web is full of web sites dedicated to the safety of lift trucks. There are also private businesses who provide forklift safety training services, such as written programs and videos. Most safety videos could either be purchased or rented or leased. One essential thing to consider is that simply by showing your employees a video or a series of videos on lift truck safety, does not meet the full requirements of the OSHA standard. Subsequent training and skill of the new drivers has to be conveyed and evaluated by a specific way so as to ensure the complete training has been acquired.
Once drivers have passed their training requirements, they would be given a lift truck certificate which enables them to drive a lift truck. Valid lift truck certificates are a requirement by organizations in order to keep everyone at the workplace as safe as possible.