Particular OSHA requirements have to be met so as to use any kind of forklift. Many of the businesses utilizing forklifts will offer basic training to the other office and sales staff in addition to visitors and other non operators who may venture into the distribution areas. Though OSHA doesn't specifically deal with forklift pedestrian training, the OSHA General Duty Clause dictates that employers should take measures in order to protect employees from some dangers, like pedestrians exposed to lift trucks in motion.
Pedestrian safety is a huge problem that needs to be addressed and not disregarded. Based on the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health or NIOSH; around 20% of all forklift mishaps include a pedestrian being struck by a forklift. This statistic translates to about 19,000 individuals on an annual basis.
So as to keep everybody safe, there are several basic steps that must be taken into consideration. This is regardless to how briefly or frequently 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 ignorant of safety measures. Problems also happen more frequently when the pedestrian ends up complacent because she or he has become used to frequent interaction with forklifts.
There are some common situations to look out for in order to avoid placing yourself at potential risk from being struck by a lift truck. Pedestrians not seeing the forklift is a common problem which has to be dealt with. Many operations have varying degrees of intersections or blind corners which pedestrians need to know. Sometimes pedestrians do not hear the lift truck. Be very careful of the various types of power sources. For instance, electric trucks may be a lot quieter as opposed to IC engines which are super loud.
The other main problems are when pedestrians come in too close proximity of the machine. 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 that is running, a four foot safety zone is recommended in order to make a safe perimeter for everybody. This helps to deal with risks like the unit accidentally driving over the foot of a pedestrian.
To make sure that the workplace safety stays top notch and remains paramount, the implementation and following of strict safety protocol is important.