In order to utilize any type of forklift, certain OSHA requirements have to be met. Some businesses offer basic awareness training to other individuals like visitors and office employees or sales people and other non-operators who may venture into the yard or warehouse. Though OSHA doesn't particularly address forklift pedestrian training, the OSHA General Duty Clause dictates that employers should take measures in order to protect employees from certain dangers, like for example pedestrians exposed to lift trucks in motion.
A big concern which would need to be dealt with is pedestrian safety. Based on the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health or NIOSH; approximately 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.
In order to keep everybody safe, there are several basic steps that should be taken into consideration. This is regardless to how briefly or frequently individuals are around industrial trucks in their work day. Among the major factors is that forklift pedestrian mishaps usually occur in cases where the pedestrian is not aware of safety precautions. Problems also occur more often when the pedestrian has become used to frequent interaction with forklifts and ends up complacent.
There are some common situations to look out for so as to prevent placing yourself at potential risk from being struck by a forklift. Pedestrians not seeing the forklift is a common problem which needs to be addressed. Lots of operations have various degrees of blind corners or intersections which pedestrians need to be aware of. Sometimes pedestrians do not hear the forklift. Be really careful of the different kinds of power sources. Like for example, electric trucks may be a lot quieter as opposed to IC engines that are really loud.
The other major issues are when pedestrians come in too near the machine. Common sense tells us that in order for a pedestrian to be injured by a forklift, the pedestrian needs to be in close enough proximity to be struck. For a forklift which is running, a four foot safety zone is suggested in order to make a safe perimeter for everybody. This really helps to deal with risks such as the unit accidentally driving 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 important.