Specific OSHA requirements need to be met in order to use any kind of forklift. A lot of the businesses using forklifts would offer basic training to the other sales and office employees in combination with visitors and other non operators who may venture into the distribution areas. Even if OSHA doesn't particularly deal with forklift pedestrian training, the OSHA General Duty Clause dictates that employers must take measures so as to protect employees from certain risks, such as pedestrians exposed to lift trucks in motion.
A huge concern which will need to be dealt with is pedestrian safety. Based on the NIOSH or the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health; approximately 20% of all forklift mishaps comprise a pedestrian being struck by a forklift. This statistic means around 19,000 people each and every year.
So as to keep everyone safe, there are several basic steps that must be taken into consideration. This is regardless to how frequently or briefly individuals are around industrial trucks in their work day. Among the major considerations is that lift truck pedestrian accidents often happen in cases where the pedestrian is ignorant of safety precautions. Problems also happen more frequently when the pedestrian has become used to frequent interaction with forklifts and ends up complacent.
In order to avoid putting yourself at potential risk of being struck by a lift truck, there are some common situations to look out for. Among the most common problems is when pedestrians did not see the forklift. Numerous operations have different degrees of blind corners or intersections which pedestrians must know. At times pedestrians do not hear the forklift. Be very careful of the different kinds of power sources. For example, electric trucks could be a lot quieter than internal combustion engines that are super loud.
Coming in too close proximity of the machine is another common issue for pedestrians. In order for a pedestrian to be injured by a forklift, common sense tells us that the pedestrian has to be in close proximity to be struck. For a lift truck that is running, a four foot safety zone is suggested in order to make a safe perimeter for everybody. This really helps to address risks such as the unit driving accidentally over the foot of a pedestrian.
Following and implementing strict safety protocol helps to make certain that the workplace safety remains paramount and stays top notch.