The forklift is a dangerous equipment. The most recent statistics have shown that more than 100 employees are killed in some type of forklift accident. An additional 95,000 employees are injured on the job each and every year too, using these heavy pieces of industrial machines.
Most fatalities have been due to lift truck turnovers. Being crushed between the lift truck and another surface is the next highest percentage of fatalities. The third highest cause of death is being struck by the forklift itself and last but not least, getting hit from falling items because of a dropped load is the last statistic. Each and every injury or fatality is quite frightening and awful due to the immense weight and ability of these machinery.
Who Should Conduct the Training?
All teaching and assessment for lift truck operation has to be trained by properly trained instructors. These trainers must have the knowledge and experience to train potential operators the necessary skills to evaluate their competency after that. Several examples of a qualified trainer include a person who has a certificate, specialized degree or professional standing in their possession, or someone who has extensive training, experience and knowledge with lift trucks. A good candidate has plenty of practice and has demonstrated the ability to evaluate and train drivers of industrial trucks.
There are resources available to choose from if their employer does not wish to perform the training themselves. Like for example, they could hire in local health and safety organizations, like truck manufacturers, the National Safety Council local chapters, or private teaching consultants who specialize in powered industrial trucks. There are usually local trade and vocational schools that would be happy to offer several great resources.
The World Wide Web is full of websites dedicated to the safety of lift trucks. There are also private companies that provide lift truck safety training services, such as videos and written programs. Most safety videos could either be rented or leased or purchased. One really vital thing to consider is that simply by showing your employees a series of videos or a video about lift truck safety, does not meet the full requirements of the OSHA standard. Succeeding training and skill of the new drivers must be conveyed and assessed by a specific method so as to ensure the full training has been acquired.
When the operator has successfully passed all of the necessary training, a lift truck certificate will be issued and they will legally be able to drive a lift truck. Valid forklift certificates are a requirement by organizations to be able to keep everybody at the workplace as safe as possible.