The forklift is a dangerous machine. The newest statistics have shown that more than 100 employees are killed in some type of lift truck mishap. An additional 95,000 employees are injured on the job each year too, using these heavy pieces of industrial machinery.
Unfortunately, most of the fatalities are because of forklift turnovers. The second 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 but not least, getting hit from falling things due to a dropped load is the last statistic. Each injury or death is quite gruesome and awful due to the ability and immense weight of these machines.
Who Should Conduct the Training?
All evaluation and teaching has to be taught by people who have the right training, experience and knowledge to teach powered industrial truck operators the right skills and then to assess their competency after that. Several examples of a qualified trainer include an individual who has a license, certified degree or professional standing in their possession, or who has extensive training, experience and knowledge using lift trucks. A good candidate has plenty of experience and has shown the capability to evaluate and train industrial truck drivers.
There are resources available to select from if their employer does not want to perform the training themselves. Like for example, they could employ in local health and safety organizations, like for example the National Safety Council local chapters, truck manufacturers, or private training consultants who specialize in powered industrial trucks. There are usually local vocational and trade schools that would be happy to offer some great resources.
The internet is full of web sites committed to the safety of lift trucks. There are also private companies who provide lift truck safety training services, such as videos and written programs. The majority of safety videos can either be leased or rented or bought. One important factor to consider is that simply by showing your employees a video or a series of videos about forklift 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 particular way in order to make sure that the full training has been acquired.
Once operators have passed their training requirements, they will receive a forklift certificate that enables them to drive a forklift. Valid lift truck certificates are a requirement by organizations to be able to keep everybody at the workplace very safe.