To be able to use any type of lift truck, specific OSHA requirements have to be met. Several businesses provide basic awareness training to other people such as 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 forklift pedestrian training, the OSHA General Duty Clause dictates that employers have to take measures so as to protect employees from certain dangers, such as pedestrians exposed to lift trucks in motion.
Pedestrian safety is a huge concern which needs to be addressed and not overlooked. Based on the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health or NIOSH; about 20 percent of all forklift accidents consist of a pedestrian being struck by a forklift. This statistic means around 19,000 people on an annual basis.
In order to keep everyone safe, there are several basic steps which must be taken into consideration. This is regardless to how briefly or frequently people are around industrial trucks during their work day. One of the major considerations is that lift truck pedestrian mishaps usually happen in cases where the pedestrian is ignorant of safety precautions. Issues also occur more frequently when the pedestrian has become used to frequent interaction with forklifts and ends up complacent.
So as to avoid putting yourself at potential risk of being struck by a forklift, there are some common situations to look out for. One of the most common problems is when pedestrians did not see the lift truck. 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 very careful of the different kinds of power sources. For instance, electric trucks may be much quieter than internal combustion 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 lift truck, the pedestrian needs to be near to be struck. For a lift truck that is working, a four foot safety zone is suggested so as to make a safe perimeter for everybody. This really helps to address risks such as the unit driving accidentally over the foot of a pedestrian.
To make sure that the workplace safety stays top notch and remains paramount, following and the implementation of strict safety protocol is key.