In order to use any kind of forklift, specific OSHA requirements have to be met. Some companies provide basic awareness training to other individuals such as visitors and office employees or sales people and other non-operators who might venture into the yard or warehouse. Even though OSHA doesn't specifically address forklift pedestrian training, the OSHA General Duty Clause dictates that employers must take measures in order to protect employees from some risks, such as pedestrians exposed to moving lift trucks.
Pedestrian safety is a huge issue which needs to be addressed and not overlooked. Based on the NIOSH or the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health; about 20 percent of all forklift accidents include a pedestrian being struck by a forklift. This statistic means roughly 19,000 individuals on an annual basis.
Nonetheless briefly or frequently people are around industrial trucks during their work day, there are several basic steps that must be taken in order to keep everybody safe. Among the major factors is that lift truck pedestrian accidents usually occur in cases where the pedestrian is ignorant of safety measures. Problems also occur more often when the pedestrian ends up complacent since she or he has become used to frequent interaction with forklifts.
So as to avoid putting yourself at possible risk of being struck by a forklift, there are several common situations to look out for. Amongst the most common problems is when pedestrians did not see the lift truck. Lots of operations have various degrees of intersections or blind corners which pedestrians must know. At times pedestrians do not hear the lift truck. Be really careful of the various types of power sources. For example, electric trucks could be a lot quieter than IC engines that are super loud.
The other main issues 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 needs to be near 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 everyone. This helps to address risks such as the model driving accidentally over a pedestrian's foot.
Following and implementing strict safety protocol helps to make certain that the workplace safety remains paramount and stays top notch.