Specific OSHA requirements have to be met in order to use any kind of lift truck. Many of the businesses using lift trucks will offer basic training to the other sales and office employees in combination with visitors and other non operators who may venture into the distribution areas. Even though OSHA doesn't particularly deal with lift truck pedestrian training, the OSHA General Duty Clause dictates that employers need to take measures in order to protect employees from some dangers, like pedestrians exposed to lift trucks in motion.
A big concern which would have to be dealt with is pedestrian safety. According to the NIOSH or the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health; around 20% of all forklift accidents include a pedestrian being struck by a forklift. This statistic means roughly 19,000 individuals each year.
However frequently or briefly people are around industrial trucks during their work day, there are some basic steps which must be taken in order to keep everyone safe. Amongst the major factors is that lift truck pedestrian mishaps often happen in cases where the pedestrian is ignorant of safety measures. Problems also occur more often when the pedestrian has become used to frequent interaction with forklifts and ends up complacent.
There are several common situations to look out for in order to avoid placing yourself at potential risk from being struck by a forklift. Pedestrians not seeing the lift truck is a common problem that needs to be dealt with. Numerous operations have different degrees of intersections or blind corners that pedestrians should know. Sometimes pedestrians do not hear the lift truck. Be careful of the various kinds of power sources. Like for example, electric trucks may be a lot quieter than internal combustion engines that are super loud.
Coming in too close proximity of the equipment is another common problem for pedestrians. In order for a pedestrian to be injured by a forklift, common sense tells us that the pedestrian needs to be near to be struck. For a lift truck that is running, a four foot safety zone is suggested in order to make a safe perimeter for everybody. This really helps to address risks like for instance the model driving accidentally over the foot of a pedestrian.
Implementing and following strict safety protocol helps to make sure that the workplace safety stays top notch and remains paramount.