To be able to utilize any kind of forklift, certain OSHA requirements need to be met. Several businesses offer basic awareness training to other people like visitors and office staff or sales people and other non-operators who may venture into the yard or warehouse. Even if OSHA doesn't particularly deal with lift truck pedestrian training, the OSHA General Duty Clause dictates that employers should take measures in order to protect employees from certain risks, such as pedestrians exposed to moving lift trucks.
A huge problem that will have to be addressed is pedestrian safety. According to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health or NIOSH; about 20% of all forklift accidents include a pedestrian being struck by a forklift. This statistic means around 19,000 individuals each and every year.
In order to keep everybody safe, there are some basic steps that should be taken into consideration. This is regardless to how briefly or frequently people are around industrial trucks during their work day. Amongst the major factors is that lift truck pedestrian mishaps normally occur in cases where the pedestrian is not aware of safety precautions. Problems also happen more often when the pedestrian ends up complacent because she or he has become used to frequent interaction with lift trucks.
There are several common situations to look out for so as to prevent placing yourself at potential risk from being struck by a forklift. Pedestrians not seeing the forklift is a common problem that has to be addressed. Many operations have various degrees of intersections or blind corners which pedestrians need to be aware of. Sometimes pedestrians do not hear the forklift. Be careful of the various types of power sources. Like for example, electric trucks could be much quieter than internal combustion engines that are really loud.
The other major problems are when pedestrians come in too close proximity of the machinery. 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 suggested so as to make a safe perimeter for everybody. This helps to address risks such as the model accidentally driving over a pedestrian's foot.
Implementing and following strict safety protocol helps to make certain that the workplace safety remains paramount and stays top notch.