Who Should Attend

This class is designed for all personnel who operate an industril forklift or lift-type truck. This Forklift Safety course is designed for the operator who currently has knowledge of forklift operation and functionality.

What you will learn

• Areas of Concern
• Cal/OSHA Rules
• Work environment related topics
• Environment related topics
• Forlift inspection
• Engineering topics
  

The students are taught the areas of concern including Cal OSHA Rules, work environment related topics, environmental related topics, lift inspection & Engineering Principles.

This course meets the Cal OSHA requirements for forklift operator safety training. Includes practical (hands-on) evaluation when taught at your facility. Approximately four hours per 10 students when testing on one truck type; five and one-half to six hours per 20 students, testing on one truck type.

Note: This course is not designed to teach a new person how to operate a forklift. The purpose is to inform or refresh experienced operators on important safety principles as required by Cal-OSHA.

OSHA has published the Final Rule for Powered Industrial Truck Operator Training [29 CFR 1910.178(l)], which became effective March 1, 1999. The standard requires operator training and licensing as well as periodic evaluations of operator performance.

The standard also addresses specific training requirements for truck operation, loading, seat belts, overhead protective structures, alarms, and maintenance of industrial trucks. Refresher training is required if the operator is observed operating the truck in an unsafe manner, is involved in an accident or near miss, or is assigned a different type of truck.

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) investigations of forklift-related deaths indicate that many workers and employers may not be aware of the risks of operating or working near forklifts and are not following the procedures set forth in OSHA standards, consensus standards, or equipment manufacturer's guidelines. Generally, reducing the risk of forklift incidents requires comprehensive worker training, systematic traffic management, a safe work environment, a safe forklift, and safe work practices. The following references aid in recognizing and controlling some of the hazards associated with powered industrial trucks (PIT).

Potential Hazards

• Preventing Injuries and Deaths of Workers Who Operate or Work Near Forklifts. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Publication No. 2001-109, (2001, June). Includes iforklift fatality data, current standards, case reports, recommendations, and instructs workers in the steps they can take to protect themselves. 
• Youth and Labor: Hazardous Jobs. US Department of Labor (DOL). Provides links to federal and state sites related to hazardous occupations for young workers.

• Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation (FACE) Program: Index of In-house FACE Investigative Reports. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). Includes reports on investigations of fatal occupational injuries.
  • Fatal Accident Summary Report: Struck and Crushed By a Backing Forklift While Cleaning Up an Auto Salvage Yard. FACE 8418.
  • Order Selector Dies After Jumping 16 Feet From an Elevated Pallet on an Overturning Forklift in South Carolina. FACE 9124.
  • Press Operator Dies After Forklift Rams Scrap Bin-- North Carolina. FACE 9604.
  • Supply Motorman Killed by Load Falling from a Forklift. FACE 8412.
  • Seventeen-Year-Old Warehouse Laborer Dies After the Forklift He Was Operating Tipped Over and Crushed Him—Arizona. FACE 2002-02.
  • Seventeen-Year-Old Laborer at Salvage Lumber Operation Crushed by Forklift That Tipped Over – New York. FACE 2000-22.
  • Sixteen-Year-Old Laborer At a Building Supply Center Crushed by Forklift That Tipped Over - Ohio. FACE 2000-09.

• Protecting Young Workers: Prohibition Against Young Workers Operating Forklifts. OSHA Safety and Health Information Bulletin (SHIB) 03-09-30, (2003, September 30). Informs employers that youth employment regulations (29 CFR 570) promulgated under the Fair Labor Standards Act prohibit most employees under the age of 18 years from operating forklifts for non-agricultural operations and reminds employers that all forklift operators must be trained and certified.
• Preventing Injuries and Deaths of Workers Who Operate or Work Near Forklifts. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Publication No. 2001-109, (2001, June). Includes information on forklift fatality data, current standards, case reports, recommendations, and instructs workers in the steps they can take to protect themselves. 
• Departmentwide Program Evaluation of the Hazardous Materials Transportation Programs: Final Report. US Department of Transportation (DOT), (2000, March), 297 KB PDF, 172 pages.

All training is performed in accordance with Federal OSHA, applicable State-chartered OSHA, and other State Regulations and local Ordinances.