The lift truck is a dangerous machinery. The most recent statistics have shown that more than 100 employees are killed in some form of lift truck accident. 95,000 more workers are injured on the job on an annual basis as well, utilizing these heavy pieces of industrial machines.
Most fatalities have been because of lift truck turnovers. Being crushed between the lift truck and another surface is the second highest percentage of fatalities. The third highest cause of death is being struck by the lift truck itself and last of all, getting hit from falling things because of a dropped load is the last statistic. Every injury or fatality is quite awful and gruesome due to the immense weight and ability of these machinery.
Who Must Perform the Training?
All assessment and training needs to be trained by people who have the correct education, knowledge and experience to train powered industrial truck drivers the right skills and then to evaluate their competence afterwards. Several examples of a qualified trainer include an individual who has a certificate, certified degree or professional status in their possession, or who has extensive training, knowledge and experience using forklifts. A good candidate has lots of experience and has shown the capability to teach and evaluate industrial truck operators.
There are resources available to select from if their employer does not wish to perform the training themselves. 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 often local trade and vocational schools which will be happy to provide some great resources.
The World Wide Web is full of web sites dedicated to the safety of forklifts. 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 essential thing to take into consideration is that simply by showing your workers a series of videos or a video on forklift safety, does not meet the full requirements of the OSHA standard. Subsequent training and skill of the new operators should be conveyed and evaluated by a particular way in order to ensure the complete training has been acquired.
Once operators have passed their training requirements, they would be given a forklift certificate which permits them to drive a forklift. Valid lift truck licenses are a requirement by organizations to be able to keep everyone at the workplace very safe.