In order to utilize any type of forklift, specific OSHA requirements need to be met. Several companies provide basic awareness training to other people such as visitors and office employees or sales people and other non-operators who might venture into the yard or warehouse. Even if OSHA doesn't specifically deal with forklift pedestrian training, the OSHA General Duty Clause dictates that employers have to take measures in order to protect employees from certain dangers, such as pedestrians exposed to lift trucks in motion.
A huge problem that will have to be addressed 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 means approximately 19,000 people each year.
Then again briefly or frequently people are around industrial trucks in their work day, there are several basic steps which should be taken in order to keep everyone safe. One of the major factors is that forklift pedestrian mishaps normally occur in cases where the pedestrian is not aware of safety precautions. Problems also occur more often when the pedestrian ends up complacent since he or she has become used to frequent interaction with forklifts.
In order to avoid putting yourself at potential risk of being struck by a lift truck, there are several common situations to look out for. Amongst the most common issues is when pedestrians did not see the forklift. Many operations have various degrees of blind corners or intersections which pedestrians must be aware of. At times pedestrians do not hear the forklift. Be very careful of the various kinds of power sources. For instance, electric trucks may be a lot quieter than internal combustion engines that are super 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 forklift, the pedestrian needs to be in close enough proximity to be struck. For a lift truck that is running, a four foot safety zone is recommended so as to make a safe perimeter for everybody. This really helps to address risks such as the model driving accidentally over a pedestrian's foot.
Following and implementing strict safety protocol helps to make certain that the workplace safety remains paramount and stays top notch.