In order to utilize any type of forklift, certain OSHA requirements need to be met. Some companies offer basic awareness training to other individuals such as visitors and office employees or sales people and other non-operators who might venture into the warehouse or yard. Though OSHA doesn't specifically address lift truck 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 moving lift trucks.
A big issue which will have to be dealt with is pedestrian safety. According to the NIOSH or the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health; around 20% of all forklift mishaps consist of a pedestrian being struck by a forklift. This statistic translates to roughly 19,000 individuals each year.
In order to keep everybody safe, there are several basic steps which must be taken into account. This is regardless to how briefly or frequently people are around industrial trucks in their work day. Amongst the main considerations is that forklift pedestrian accidents normally happen in cases where the pedestrian is not aware of safety measures. Problems also happen more frequently when the pedestrian ends up complacent because she or he has become used to frequent interaction with lift trucks.
In order to avoid putting yourself at potential risk of being struck by a forklift, there are several common situations to look out for. Amongst the most common problems is when pedestrians did not see the forklift. A lot operations have varying degrees of blind corners or intersections that pedestrians must know. At times pedestrians do not hear the lift truck. Be very careful of the different kinds of power sources. Like for instance, electric trucks could be a lot quieter compared to IC engines which are really loud.
The other main problems are when pedestrians come in too close proximity of the equipment. Common sense tells us that in order for a pedestrian to be injured by a lift truck, the pedestrian needs to be near to be struck. For a forklift that is working, a four foot safety zone is recommended in order to make a safe perimeter for everybody. This helps to address risks like the model accidentally driving over a pedestrian's foot.
To make certain that the workplace safety remains paramount and stays top notch, the implementation and following of strict safety protocol is key.