To be able to use any kind of lift truck, certain OSHA requirements need to be met. Several companies offer basic awareness training to other people such as visitors and office staff or sales people and other non-operators who might venture into the yard or warehouse. Even if OSHA doesn't particularly address lift truck pedestrian training, the OSHA General Duty Clause dictates that employers need to take measures in order to protect employees from certain risks, such as pedestrians exposed to lift trucks in motion.
A huge issue which will have to be dealt with is pedestrian safety. Based on the NIOSH or the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health; about 20% of all forklift mishaps consist of a pedestrian being struck by a forklift. This statistic means approximately 19,000 individuals on a yearly basis.
In order to keep everyone safe, there are several basic steps that should be taken into account. This is regardless to how briefly or frequently people are around industrial trucks in their work day. Amongst the main considerations is that lift truck pedestrian accidents usually occur in cases where the pedestrian is not aware of safety precautions. Problems also happen more frequently when the pedestrian has become used to frequent interaction with forklifts and ends up complacent.
There are some common situations to look out for so as to prevent placing yourself at potential risk from being struck by a lift truck. Pedestrians not seeing the lift truck is a common problem which needs to be dealt with. Many operations have varying degrees of blind corners or intersections which pedestrians must know. At times pedestrians do not hear the forklift. Be careful of the different kinds of power sources. For example, electric trucks may be much quieter than internal combustion engines that are super loud.
The other main issues are when pedestrians come in too near 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 running, a four foot safety zone is recommended so as to make a safe perimeter for everybody. This helps to deal with risks like for instance the model accidentally driving over the foot of a pedestrian.
Following and implementing strict safety protocol helps to make sure that the workplace safety remains paramount and stays top notch.