The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) takes forklift safety very seriously. In fact, they’ve beefed up the standard to include very specific operator training requirements.
OSHA’s standard on Powered Industrial Trucks has specific requirements for operator training (29 CFR 1910.178 (l)(2)(ii)) that require a combination of formal training (classroom, videos, etc.) with practical instruction, as well as an evaluation and certification process. The standard says that only those who are already competent operators can provide this training, and also specifies a long list of required training topics.
Once trained, operators need refresher training and evaluation at least every 3 years (29 CFR 1910.178(l)(4)(iii)); more often for operators that have a record of accidents or near-misses. And speaking of near misses: Don’t take them lightly! Use them as an opportunity for formal or informal safety training so the “real thing” doesn’t happen at your facility. Trainers should refer to the OSHA standard to make sure all the required subject matter is covered.
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However, make sure all your employees take forklift safety seriously, too.
While it’s true that only employees with specific training can operate a forklift, any employees who work around forklifts should know the basics of safe operation and maintenance and how to avoid getting hurt accidentally. So it’s good practice to conduct a “basic forklift safety” session for anyone who might be affected by forklifts. Even experienced, trained operators can benefit from refresher training in basic forklift safety.
Forklifts are heavy machines that can seriously injure or kill people; they’re not like mini-cars in an amusement park. Remind employees that forklifts can topple over, collide with objects (and people), and drop heavy loads. As well, they present a possible fire and explosion hazard when being refueled.
Also review these basics of forklift safety:
- Never exceed the rated load capacity.
- Make sure the load is balanced on the forks.
- Never ride as a passenger on a forklift.
- Never stand under the forks when they’re raised.
- Never smoke when the forklift is being refueled.
Finally, encourage all employees to be on the lookout for possible forklift safety hazards, including unsafe operation or maintenance problems, and to report any such hazards to a supervisor as soon as possible.
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In tomorrow’s Advisor, we’ll give seven safety tips for forklift operations on rough terrain, and we’ll showcase a dynamic, prewritten resource that allows you to train on more than 100 key safety topics in only 7 minutes!