The forklift is a dangerous machine. The most recent data have proven that more than 100 employees are killed in some form of forklift accident. 95,000 more workers are injured on the job every year too, using these heavy pieces of industrial machines.
Unfortunately, nearly all of the fatalities are due to forklift 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 of all, getting hit from falling things due to a dropped load is the last statistic. Each and every injury or death is quite gruesome and awful due to the ability and immense weight of these machines.
Who Should Perform the Training?
All training and assessment for lift truck operation needs to be taught by appropriately trained instructors. These trainers should have the experience and knowledge to train potential operators the required skills to assess their competence afterwards. Some examples of a qualified trainer consist of a person who has a license, professional status or specialized degree in their possession, or somebody who has extensive training, knowledge and experience utilizing forklifts. A good candidate has plenty of experience and has demonstrated the ability to train and evaluate operators of industrial trucks.
There are resources accessible to select from if their employer does not wish to perform the training themselves. For instance, they can employ in local health and safety organizations, like for instance truck manufacturers, the National Safety Council local chapters, or private teaching consultants who specialize in powered industrial trucks. There are often local vocational and trade schools that would be glad to offer some great resources.
There are lots of web sites on the Internet who are devoted to forklift safety. Private businesses could be found online that offer lift truck safety training services, like videos and written programs. Most safety videos can either be leased or rented or purchased. One really vital factor 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 knowledge of the new drivers must be conveyed and assessed by a specific way so as to make certain that the full training has been acquired.
Once the driver has successfully passed all of the necessary training, a forklift license would be given and they will legally be able to drive a forklift. Valid forklift licenses are a requirement by organizations to be able to keep everyone at the workplace as safe as possible.