In order to use any type of forklift, specific OSHA requirements need to be met. Some businesses provide basic awareness training to other people like visitors and office employees or sales people and other non-operators who may venture into the yard or warehouse. Even though OSHA doesn't particularly deal with forklift 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.
Pedestrian safety is a huge problem that has to be dealt with and not disregarded. Based on the NIOSH or the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health; approximately 20 percent of all forklift mishaps consist of a pedestrian being struck by a forklift. This statistic translates to roughly 19,000 individuals every year.
Nevertheless briefly or frequently individuals are around industrial trucks during their work day, there are several basic steps that must be taken so as to keep everybody safe. One of the major factors is that lift truck pedestrian accidents often happen in cases where the pedestrian is not aware of safety precautions. Issues also occur more frequently when the pedestrian ends up complacent since she or he has become used to frequent interaction with lift trucks.
There are some common situations to look out for so as to prevent placing yourself at potential risk from being struck by a lift truck. Pedestrians not seeing the forklift is a common issue which has to be addressed. Lots of operations have various degrees of blind corners or intersections that pedestrians have to know. Sometimes pedestrians do not hear the lift truck. Be really careful of the various types of power sources. For instance, electric trucks may be much quieter than IC engines that 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 in close enough proximity to be struck. For a lift truck which is running, a four foot safety zone is recommended in order to make a safe perimeter for everybody. This helps to deal with risks like the unit driving accidentally over the foot of a pedestrian.
To make certain that the workplace safety stays top notch and remains paramount, the implementation and following of strict safety protocol is key.