In order to utilize any type of forklift, certain OSHA requirements need to be met. Several businesses offer basic awareness training to other people such as visitors and office staff or sales people and other non-operators who may venture into the yard or warehouse. Even though OSHA doesn't specifically deal with forklift pedestrian training, the OSHA General Duty Clause dictates that employers should take measures in order to protect employees from some dangers, like for example pedestrians exposed to lift trucks in motion.
A big problem that would have to be dealt with is pedestrian safety. According to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health or NIOSH; approximately 20% of all forklift accidents include a pedestrian being struck by a forklift. This statistic means roughly 19,000 people on a yearly basis.
Nevertheless briefly or frequently people are around industrial trucks in their work day, there are some basic steps that must be taken in order to keep everyone safe. Among the main considerations is that forklift pedestrian mishaps normally happen in cases where the pedestrian is ignorant of safety precautions. Issues also occur more frequently when the pedestrian has become used to frequent interaction with forklifts and ends up complacent.
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. Among the most common issues is when pedestrians did not see the lift truck. Numerous operations have varying degrees of blind corners or intersections that pedestrians should know. Sometimes pedestrians do not hear the lift truck. Be very careful of the different kinds of power sources. Like for example, electric trucks can be much quieter compared to internal combustion engines that are really loud.
The other major issues are when pedestrians come in too near the machinery. Common sense tells us that in order for a pedestrian to be injured by a forklift, the pedestrian has 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 sure that the workplace safety stays top notch and remains paramount, following and the implementation of strict safety protocol is important.