In order to utilize any type of forklift, specific OSHA requirements have to be met. Several companies provide basic awareness training to other individuals like visitors and office staff or sales people and other non-operators who may venture into the warehouse or yard. Even though OSHA doesn't particularly address lift truck pedestrian training, the OSHA General Duty Clause dictates that employers need to take measures so as to protect employees from certain dangers, like pedestrians exposed to moving lift trucks.
A big issue that will have to be dealt with is pedestrian safety. Based on the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health or NIOSH; about 20% of all forklift mishaps consist of a pedestrian being struck by a forklift. This statistic translates to around 19,000 people on a yearly basis.
Nevertheless frequently or briefly individuals are around industrial trucks in their work day, there are some basic steps which must be taken in order to keep everybody safe. One of the main considerations is that forklift pedestrian mishaps often occur in situations where the pedestrian is ignorant of safety precautions. Problems also occur more often 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. Amongst the most common problems is when pedestrians did not see the lift truck. Many operations have various degrees of intersections or blind corners which pedestrians need to know. At times pedestrians do not hear the lift truck. Be careful of the different kinds of power sources. For instance, electric trucks could be a lot quieter than IC engines which are super loud.
The other major problems are when pedestrians come in too close proximity of the machine. 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 lift truck which is working, a four foot safety zone is recommended so as to make a safe perimeter for everybody. This really helps to address risks like for example the unit accidentally driving over a pedestrian's foot.
To make sure that the workplace safety remains paramount and stays top notch, following and the implementation of strict safety protocol is important.