Goal of Effective Lift Truck Safety Training

There are two goals that need to be met when implementing a safety program involving lift truck.

• One of which is to explain the importance of lift truck safety procedures. Encapsulate the importance of it to the mind of the lift truck driver can definitely boost their morale and management’s safety protocols at site. The lift truck operation procedure must be written in such a way a layperson can understand, never include technical terms when writing or drafting these protocols. The protocols must be specific in each phase of operation. It should also be specific for each type of lift truck. The procedure can be written in as long as need, there should no limitation, envelop every topics possible, detail every subject, surpass the OSHA standard.
• The second goal of the safety program is to demonstrate safe lift truck operation after presentation. Every OSHA standard that comes out ensures that the management follows safety programs in place. The management’s role is to execute a initiative to effectively follow the OSHA standard for the benefit of the lift truck drivers but for the advantage of themselves. Companies must execute a safety program in the workplace, these programs must not only written but must be put into practice. There have been lots of reports, managements mask their ignorance by just making it appear they follow OSHA standard, by faking the safety training reports. Many have been fined and penalized for thousands of dollars. Some face criminal liabilities depending on the gravity of their case and violation.

Points that must be defined in the protocols

Who can operate the lift truck: the written procedure must define who qualifies to drive the forklift. It must clearly tell who are those qualified personnel. The training of operators must be done in accordance to OSHA, or in higher norms when company has its own. An authorized employees is someone who has certification and completion of training specific to a type of lift truck.

Stability of the lift truck. Every type of machine is different from another, therefore, the stability is also different. Every training must tackle the center of gravity of a specific truck. It is very important so that operator can be cautioned himself about it to prevent tip over. Many accidents in the statistics involved such tip over incidents, that cause fatalities, serious injuries and damage to company’s property.

The another point that must be followed is the load capacity or limitation. The front wheels servers as the fulcrum point of the lift truck. Therefore, overloading it can cause the fulcrum can cause the machine to breakdown. It can also cause accidents.

Pre-operation of the lift truck. Preparing a checklist that will help the operator to conduct inspection for his shift can definitely help in maintenance, troubleshooting, and accident prevention. This subject must be included in the safety training and making sure of its implementation. The checklist is just a simple document. Making sure that every work shift has a checklist can definitely save money for the part of the employer. For worker, making sure that the lift is properly maintained, can prevent accident for them.