The lift truck is a dangerous equipment. The newest statistics have proven that more than 100 workers are killed in some form of lift truck mishap. An extra 95,000 employees are hurt on the job on a yearly basis too, using these heavy pieces of industrial equipment.
Sadly, nearly all of the fatalities are because of lift truck turnovers. The next highest percentage of fatalities is due to being crushed between a lift truck and another surface. The third highest cause of fatality is being struck by the lift truck itself and last but not least, getting hit from falling things due to a dropped load is the last statistic. Each injury or death is quite frightening and awful due to the capability and immense weight of these machinery.
Who Should Perform the Training?
All training and evaluation for lift truck operation needs to be taught by properly trained instructors. These trainers must have the experience and knowledge to train potential operators the necessary skills to evaluate their competency afterwards. Several examples of a skilled trainer comprise a person who has a certificate, specialized degree or professional status in their possession, or who has extensive training, experience and knowledge utilizing forklifts. A good candidate has a lot of practice and has demonstrated the ability to evaluate and train industrial truck drivers.
If the employer does not want to perform the training himself, there are numerous resources accessible for them to choose from. Like for instance, they could employ in local health and safety organizations, like for instance the National Safety Council local chapters, truck manufacturers, or private training consultants who specialize in powered industrial trucks. There are normally local trade and vocational schools which would be glad to provide several great resources.
There are a lot of web sites on the World Wide Web who are devoted to forklift safety. Private businesses can be found online who provide lift truck safety training services, like written programs and videos. Most safety videos could either be rented or leased or bought. One very vital factor to consider is that simply by showing your workers 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 operators should be conveyed and evaluated by a specific method so as to make sure that the full training has been obtained.
When operators have passed their training requirements, they will be given a lift truck license which permits them 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.