Particular OSHA requirements have to be met so as to utilize any kind of lift truck. A lot of the companies using forklifts will provide basic training to the other office and sales employees in addition to visitors and other non operators who may venture into the distribution areas. Even if OSHA doesn't specifically deal with lift truck pedestrian training, the OSHA General Duty Clause dictates that employers have to take measures in order to protect employees from some dangers, like pedestrians exposed to lift trucks in motion.
Pedestrian safety is a big problem which has to be addressed and not overlooked. According to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health or NIOSH; around 20% of all forklift mishaps comprise a pedestrian being struck by a forklift. This statistic means about 19,000 individuals on an annual basis.
So as to keep everyone safe, there are several basic steps that should be taken into consideration. This is regardless to how frequently or briefly people are around industrial trucks in their work day. One of the major considerations is that forklift pedestrian mishaps often happen in cases where the pedestrian is not aware of safety measures. Issues also occur more often when the pedestrian ends up complacent because she or he has become used to frequent interaction with lift trucks.
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 forklift. Many operations have varying degrees of intersections or blind corners that pedestrians have to know. At times pedestrians do not hear the lift truck. Be really careful of the different kinds of power sources. For instance, electric trucks can be a lot quieter than IC engines that are really loud.
Coming in too near the machine is another common concern for pedestrians. In order for a pedestrian to be injured by a forklift, common sense tells us that the pedestrian has to be in close proximity to be struck. For a lift truck that is working, a four foot safety zone is suggested so as to make a safe perimeter for everyone. This helps to deal with risks like the model accidentally driving over a pedestrian's foot.
To make certain that the workplace safety stays top notch and remains paramount, following and the implementation of strict safety protocol is vital.