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Archived News Release--Caution:
information may be out of date.
For more information call: (202) 219- 8151.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)
has proposed training for the 1.2 million employees who drive fork lifts in an
effort to prevent fatalities and injuries. Comments are due June 12.
"We are concerned that more than 80 workers lose their
lives each year and nearly 39,000 experience lost workday injuries because of
improper operation of powered industrial trucks," said OSHA Assistant Secretary
Joseph A. Dear. "OSHA is convinced that effective training for fork lift truck
operators, as outlined in our proposal, will significantly reduce injuries and
fatalities."
The training would cover a wide range of vehicles used to
move material, excluding earth moving or over-the-road vehicles, some 823,000
trucks in all. OSHA estimates that, based on the number of powered industrial
truck accidents, two-thirds of fork lifts are involved in a mishap during their
eight-year work life. Studies of operator training show a 70 percent reduction
in operator errors following training.
"Since there are many different types of powered
industrial trucks, our proposal offers a great deal of flexibility to employers
in designing training suited to their specific vehicles. At the same time, we
have offered nonmandatory guidelines to assist smaller employers in putting
together an appropriate training program for their workers," Dear said.
"We are looking forward to working in partnership with
employers as we seek to ensure that fork lift drivers know how to do their jobs
in a safe manner. This proposal, rather than dictating a highly structured and
specific program, calls upon employers to work with employees to meet the
goal--the knowledge necessary to handle these vehicles properly."
OSHA's proposal, which applies to general industry and
maritime industries, includes provisions covering qualifications for potential
operators; conduct, content and evaluation of training; refresher and remedial
training; and certification that workers are trained and avoidance of
duplicative training. The proposal contains two nonmandatory appendices
outlining optional recommendations on operator selection, training content and
methods and providing additional information on vehicle stability.
Under the proposal, training must be tailored to the
specific type of vehicle to deal with the risks applicable to its design and
operation. Operator training will teach drivers to avoid: improper loading,
driving with an obstructed view, transporting other employees on the truck,
moving at excessive speed and poor vehicle maintenance. OSHA believes training
can help employees understand the limitations of their vehicles and prevent
unsafe acts.
The agency's proposal draws from the latest American
National Standards Institute (ANSI) standard. ANSI has revised its powered
industrial truck standard four times since OSHA adopted it as a consensus
standard in the early 1970's. On March 15, 1988, the Industrial Truck
Association petitioned OSHA to revise its standard for operator training, which
the agency agreed to do.
OSHA estimates that the annualized cost of compliance with
the industrial truck operator training proposal will be $19.4 million.
Compliance is expected to prevent between 17 and 22 fatalities per year and
between 10,898 and 14,118 lost workday injuries. It will save employers between
$8 million and $42 million in property damage, more than $750,000 in damages
and settlements from court cases involving workers injured in fork lift
accidents, and substantial sums in reduced workers' compensation costs and
claims.
Notice of the proposed standard was scheduled for
publication in the March 14, 1995 Federal Register. Written comments and
objections and requests for an information public hearing must be postmarked on
or before June 12.
Written comments on the proposed rule should be submitted,
in quadruplicate, to the Docket Officer, Docket No. S-008, Room N- 2625, U.S.
Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Ave. N.W., Washington, D.C. 20210.
Archived News Release--Caution:
information may be out of date.
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