The new employee has been on-the-job for only a week. He is concerned about no forklift safety plan. From his past job experience, it came in handy to get new hires like him up-to-speed. It also worked great as an educational safety net for the existing staff.
Frankly, you agree with him, and even though there are a ton of processes already in place, a safety plan for forklift operations is not one of them.
Now is a good time to create a safety plan, but where do you start?
How to Create a Forklift Safety Plan
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) requires, at minimum, a basic forklift safety plan. It must outline all forklift-related safety hazards and include steps to address them.
Keep the forklift safety plan as basic or as comprehensive as you see fit, but ensure all forklift operators have a copy and are made aware of their responsibilities within it.
What to Include in a Basic Safety Plan
- Required operator certifications
- Required equipment inspections
- Required PPE to operate a forklift
- Clearly designated forklift uses and purpose
- Where the forklift is allowed and not allowed
- Equipment parking, key, and storage requirements
- Training on each forklift safety feature
Information to Include to Ensure Maximum Safety
In addition to the basics, the forklift safety plan should include some things that not everyone would readily know.
- Maximum and minimum load capacities
- How to secure all different kinds of cargo
- How operators are required to communicate with each other and pedestrians
- Forklift speed limits
- Training on any additional forklift safety systems such as HIT-NOT
What to Do in an Emergency
Everything we’ve listed so far is all for safe forklift operations, assuming that all rules are followed and everything runs exactly as it’s supposed to. That’s not always the case!
It’s a good idea to include:
- What to do in case of an accident that damages property
- What to do if a person is injured – pedestrian or operator
- How to document or report an accident
- Accident follow-up protocols
OSHA recognizes forklifts as “permitted” equipment, provided they are operated according to forklift training curriculum that meets state requirements (if used in states with mandatory forklift training). This includes course topics like safe operation and efficiency, pre-operational inspections, load securement, proper communication techniques, and emergency response procedures.
OSHA even provides a handy Quick Card that can go hand-in-hand with your safety plan.
- Maximum and minimum load capacities
- How to secure all different kinds of cargo
- How operators are required to communicate
- Forklift speed limits
- Training on any additional forklift safety systems such as HIT-NOT
Finally, as you are creating a safety plan, consider what you can do to make your forklifts even safer. The HIT-NOT Proximity Detection System can do just that.
Contact SynTech Systems to request more information about HIT-NOT, and our other safety products. You can reach us at 256-571-5024.