To be able to operate 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 employees or sales people and other non-operators who may venture into the warehouse or yard. Though OSHA doesn't specifically address forklift pedestrian training, the OSHA General Duty Clause dictates that employers must take measures so as to protect employees from certain dangers, like for instance pedestrians exposed to moving lift trucks.
Pedestrian safety is a huge concern that has to be addressed and not disregarded. Based on the NIOSH or the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health; roughly 20 percent of all forklift mishaps consist of a pedestrian being struck by a forklift. This statistic translates to about 19,000 people each year.
In order to keep everybody safe, there are some basic steps that must be taken into consideration. This is regardless to how frequently or briefly individuals are around industrial trucks during their work day. Amongst the major considerations is that forklift pedestrian mishaps normally happen in situations where the pedestrian is not aware of safety precautions. Problems also happen more frequently when the pedestrian ends up complacent since he or she has become used to frequent interaction with forklifts.
There are several common situations to look out for in order to prevent placing yourself at potential risk from being struck by a forklift. Pedestrians not seeing the forklift is a common issue that needs to be addressed. Many operations have various degrees of intersections or blind corners which pedestrians must be aware of. At times pedestrians do not hear the forklift. Be very careful of the different kinds of power sources. For instance, electric trucks can be a lot quieter than internal combustion engines that are really loud.
Coming in too close proximity of the machine is another common problem 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 forklift that is running, a four foot safety zone is recommended so as to make a safe perimeter for everyone. This really helps to deal with risks like the model accidentally driving over the foot of a pedestrian.
To make sure that the workplace safety remains paramount and stays top notch, the implementation and following of strict safety protocol is important.