In order to utilize any kind of forklift, certain OSHA requirements need to be met. Several businesses offer basic awareness training to other individuals like visitors and office staff or sales people and other non-operators who may venture into the yard or warehouse. Even if OSHA doesn't particularly deal with lift truck pedestrian training, the OSHA General Duty Clause dictates that employers should take measures so as to protect employees from some dangers, like pedestrians exposed to lift trucks in motion.
Pedestrian safety is a big concern which has to be dealt with and not overlooked. According to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health or NIOSH; about 20% of all forklift mishaps comprise a pedestrian being struck by a forklift. This statistic translates to roughly 19,000 individuals on an annual basis.
Nonetheless briefly or frequently people are around industrial trucks in their work day, there are several basic steps which must be taken so as to keep everyone safe. Amongst the major factors is that forklift pedestrian mishaps normally happen in situations where the pedestrian is ignorant of safety precautions. Problems also occur more often when the pedestrian has become used to frequent interaction with forklifts and ends up complacent.
In order to avoid putting yourself at possible risk of being struck by a lift truck, there are several common situations to look out for. One of the most common issues is when pedestrians did not see the lift truck. Lots of operations have various degrees of blind corners or intersections that pedestrians must know. Sometimes pedestrians do not hear the lift truck. Be careful of the various kinds of power sources. Like for instance, electric trucks may be much quieter than internal combustion engines which are really 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 has to be in close enough proximity to be struck. For a lift truck that is running, a four foot safety zone is suggested so as to make a safe perimeter for everybody. This helps to address risks like the model accidentally driving over a pedestrian's foot.
To make sure that the workplace safety remains paramount and stays top notch, the implementation and following of strict safety protocol is key.