Your forklift is an integral part of your operation, and you just can’t afford to operate it incorrectly or worse- in an unsafe manner. We’re here to help you navigate the rules and regulations when it comes to OSHA and your forklift.
There are a lot of rules and regulations from OSHA, all of them hopefully designed to keep you and your employees safe. For an exhaustive list of the regulations and training requirements, you can go to OSHA.gov, but here’s a short overview to get you started and to spur conversation in your workplace about safety and training.
Many of the rules start and end with your operators. It is illegal for anyone under the age of 18 to operate a forklift. Period. That’s pretty simple. Operators who are of age but not properly trained and certified cannot operate a forklift.
If your operators are going to be at the controls of different types of forklifts, they must be certified on each type.
Training is available through your friendly neighborhood forklift dealer, and even through some community colleges. You, the business operator, are responsible for obtaining your own training. Operators must be evaluated every three years.
Here’s a link you should file away somewhere- it’s a sample list of the operations and procedures your forklift operators are expected to know/be able to execute. https://www.osha.gov/dte/library/pit/test.html
In the event of an OSHA violation, you’ll have the opportunity to correct it yourself before substantial penalties are assessed. If the violation isn’t corrected, fines can be administered and in some extreme cases the workplace can be shut down.
We can help you navigate through the complicated OSHA landscape and make sure that your operators are fully trained no matter what type of forklift they are in control of.
Contact us, bring us your questions about OSHA and your forklift, we’re here to help!