Lift Truck Training
Many industries use powered industrial trucks for material handling. In the recycling industry, internal combustion powered forklifts are popular. Lift truck operation requires operators who are well trained. In North America, training is a requirement, and for a very good reason. A forklift can inflict personal injury or serious property damage if not utilized safely. A loaded forklift could weight three times as much as a motor vehicle. Lift trucks are accountable for numerous industrial accidents, either as the secondary or the primary source of the accident. Reports of fatalities or injuries which involve pedestrians or operators are all very commonplace.
Training Requirement
Employers should develop and implement a training program for operators based on four factors: the types of vehicles being utilized within the workplace, the general principles of safe truck operation, the general safety requirements, based on OSHA and the particular hazards of the workplace. Training includes both practical and formal parts. At the training's completion, operators must pass an assessment showing they have the ability to operate the truck correctly. OSHA also requires that powered industrial truck operators must be trained in certain specified subject matters that is relevant to operating a lift truck safely.