The lift truck is a dangerous machinery. The most recent data have shown that over 100 employees are killed in some form of lift truck mishap. 95,000 more workers are injured on the job every year as well, utilizing these heavy pieces of industrial equipment.
Sadly, nearly all of the fatalities are due to lift truck turnovers. The next highest percentage of fatalities is due to being crushed between a forklift and another surface. The next highest cause of death is being struck by the lift truck itself and last but not least, getting hit from falling objects because of a dropped load is the last statistic. Each injury or fatality is quite awful and frightening because of the immense weight and capability of these machinery.
Who Must Conduct the Training?
All teaching and evaluation for forklift operation has to be trained by properly trained instructors. These trainers must have the knowledge and experience to teach potential operators the required skills to assess their competency after that. Some examples of a skilled trainer include an individual who has a certificate, specialized degree or professional standing in their possession, or somebody who has extensive training, knowledge and experience with lift trucks. A good candidate has lots of experience and has shown the capability to evaluate and teach operators of industrial trucks.
If the employer does not want to perform the training himself, there are many resources accessible for them to pick from. Like for instance, they could hire in local health and safety organizations, like truck manufacturers, the National Safety Council local chapters, or private training consultants who specialize in powered industrial trucks. There are usually local vocational and trade schools that would be glad to offer several great resources.
There are numerous websites on the Internet that are dedicated to lift truck safety. Private companies can be found on-line who offer forklift safety training services, such as videos and written programs. The majority of safety videos could either be leased or rented or purchased. One really important factor to consider is that simply by showing your workers a series of videos or a video on 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 particular method so as to make sure that the complete training has been acquired.
When the operator has successfully passed all of the required training, a lift truck license would be issued and they would legally be able to drive a lift truck. Valid lift truck licenses are a requirement by organizations so as to keep everybody at the workplace as safe as possible.