The forklift is a dangerous machine. The newest statistics have proven that over 100 workers are killed in some form of forklift mishap. An additional 95,000 employees are injured on the job on a yearly basis as well, utilizing these heavy pieces of industrial machines.
Nearly all fatalities have been because of forklift turnovers. Being crushed between the forklift and another surface is the next highest percentage of fatalities. The third highest cause of fatality is being struck by the lift truck itself and last but not least, getting hit from falling items because of a dropped load is the last statistic. Each and every death or injury is quite gruesome and terrible due to the immense weight and ability of these equipment.
Who Must Perform the Training?
All teaching and evaluation for lift truck operation has to be taught by appropriately trained instructors. These trainers should have the experience and knowledge to teach potential operators the required skills to evaluate their competence after that. Several examples of a qualified trainer comprise an individual who has a certificate, professional status or certified degree in their possession, or somebody who has extensive training, experience and knowledge with forklifts. A good candidate has a lot of practice and has shown the ability to teach and evaluate drivers of industrial trucks.
If the employer does not want to perform the training himself, there are many resources available for them to choose from. Like for example, they can employ 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 often local vocational and trade schools that will be glad to provide some great resources.
The World Wide Web is full of sites committed to the safety of lift trucks. There are also private businesses which provide forklift safety training services, such as videos and written programs. Most safety videos could either be purchased or rented or leased. One important thing to think about is that simply by showing your employees a video or a series of videos about lift truck 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 method so as to make sure that the complete training has been acquired.
When the operator has successfully passed all of the necessary training, a forklift license would be issued and they would legally be able to drive a forklift. Valid lift truck certificates are a requirement by organizations so as to keep everyone at the workplace as safe as possible.