Lift Truck Training
Many industries utilize powered industrial trucks for material handling. In the recycling industry, internal combustion powered forklifts are popular. Lift truck operation requires operators who are well trained. In North America, training is a requirement, and for a really good reason. A forklift can cause personal injury or serious property damage if not used safely. A loaded forklift could weight three times as much as a motor vehicle. Lift trucks are responsible for numerous industrial accidents, either as the secondary or the primary source of the accident. Reports of injuries or fatalities that involve operators or pedestrians are all too commonplace.
Training Requirement
Employers must develop and apply a training program for operators based on four factors: the general principles of safe truck operation, the types of vehicles being used in the workplace, the general safety requirements, according to OSHA and the certain hazards of the workplace. Training includes both formal and practical components. At the completion of the training, operators must pass an assessment showing they have the ability to properly operate a truck. OSHA also requires that powered industrial truck operators must be trained in certain specified topics which is applicable to safe lift truck operation.