Forklift safety is a major concern in todays workplace as most industries use this equipment and more than 20,000 injuries associated with forklift happen every year. Few accidents even result in the death of those operating it or those working near it. Injuries or death happen when the forklifts fall between docks, drive off loading docks, tip over, drop loads and strike workers nearby.
Employees also get injured when they violate the safety rules. There are certain safety rules set by OSHA, which must be followed strictly by employees, but when they cross the limits, it tends to put more harm.
Accidents not only cause injuries but it also involves property damage like damage to overhead sprinklers, pipes, racks, materials, walls and machinery. According to OSHA, the number of property damage and employee injuries can be attributed to insufficient safety training, lack of safe operating systems and inconsistency of safety rule enforcement.
The violation of OSHA standard associated with forklifts tops the 10 most frequent violated OSHA standards every year. Last year, there were about 2,909 citations, mostly related to training and the total penalties were close to about million.
To avoid the citation and penalties, training is compulsory for those operating the forklift. The OSHA safety training discusses the requirements to meet the industry truck standards and it covers everything for a safe operation of a forklift and proper procedures while loading and unloading trailers and trucks.
The OSHA standards have certain requirements for the operators education, which can be achieved through proper training. There is a long list of training topics which they need to cover up and employees should refer to OSHA standard to make sure all specific subject matters are covered in the training. Even trained and educated operators require refresher training once every 3 years and more for those who have a record of near misses and accidents.
Today, the web based solutions offer an easy way to perform the OSHA complaint forklift safety training. You can search online for OSHA complaint forklift certification and operator training easily and it is available in both English and Spanish as well.
In the two years preceding OSHA's enactment, 14000 workers died each year from workplace hazards, and another 2 million were disabled or harmed. Additionally, the "chemical revolution" following WWII introduced a vast array of new chemical compounds to the manufacturing environment. The health effects of these chemicals were poorly understood, and workers received few protections against prolonged or high levels of exposure. While a few states, such as California and New York, had enacted workplace safety as well as workplace health legislation, most states had not changed their workplace protection laws since the turn of the century. The OSHAct went into effect on April 28, 1971 (now celebrated as Workers' Memorial Day). This clip is from the 1980 film, OSHA. That entire film is available at www.youtube.com
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