Workplaces that operate forklifts may expose workers to potentially serious physical hazards. Hands-on, practical forklift safety training is the best way to keep employers and workers safe in the workplace, but that’s not all you need to know. Here’s our quick and handy guide to get you on the right track. Read on to learn more, and trust Acute Safety & Safety Services for your forklift safety training needs.

Handy Guide to Forklift Safety in the Workplace

Forklift safety in the workplace is something that must be taken seriously. Here are a few things to keep in mind.

You Must Perform Regular Forklift Inspections & Maintenance

Regular forklift safety inspections and preventative maintenance is a must in order to keep you protected while operating these vehicles. According to the Ontario Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development, this should include the following:

• Maintaining lifting equipment in good condition to prevent mechanical or operational failures. Employers must review preventive maintenance and inspection reports and follow manufacturers’ instructions for recommended maintenance schedules and practices.
• Examining lifting devices to determine their load capacity. Employers must have these examinations conducted in accordance with the regulations, for example, before using a lifting device for the first time.
• Ensuring a lifting device is constructed and equipped with suitable ropes, chains, slings, and other fittings and maintained to ensure the safety of all workers. Inspectors will ask employers about the maintenance and suitability of the equipment in the workplace.

Staying on top of your inspections and scheduling your lifting platforms for regular maintenance is a great start to keeping your employees safe.

You Must Create a Safe Work Environment

On top of forklift safety checks and regular maintenance, employers are also to be taking the following specific reasonable precautions to protect those who are working with or around forklifts and lifting devices. Depending on the results of that assessment, the following should be set in place, again per the Ontario Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development,

• Protective barriers, walkways, or sidewalks to channel pedestrian movement
• Competent signallers
• Securing and immobilizing of unattended vehicles against accidental movement
• Warning lights, signs, and audible vehicular devices
• Policies to restrict or separate pedestrian and/or vehicular movement in high traffic areas
• Signage such as surface markings to delineate either pedestrian or vehicle use
• Speed limits for vehicles
• Driver and pedestrian visibility
• Awareness training for drivers, pedestrians, and other on-property workers
• Personal signalling devices (e.g., pedestrian hand-held horns), and
• Adequate space allowances to allow for safe turning and/or backup, etc.

Comprehensive workplace assessments of vehicular and pedestrian traffic should be undertaken in your workplace.

You Need Forklift Safety Training

Clause 25(2)(a) of the Occupational Health and Safety Act obligates an employer to “provide information, instruction and supervision to a worker to protect the health or safety of the worker.” Regulation 851 is more specific, saying a forklift is only to be operated by a competent person, defined as one who:

• is qualified because of their knowledge, training, and experience to organize the work and its performance,
• is familiar with the provisions of this Act and the regulations that apply to the work, and
• has knowledge of any potential or actual danger to health or safety in the workplace.

Your employer, therefore, has a clear duty to establish the competence of any worker with relevant and comprehensive training. This must not be overlooked for the safety of everyone involved.

ACUTE’s forklift training is an interactive eight-hour training program wherein your staff will learn the essential principles involved in the safe operation of a forklift. Participants will learn about the limitations that affect truck stability and safe loading criteria, and prospective operators will be able to recognize the hazards that present a risk to themselves and those around the truck. ACUTE’s training provides a complete understanding of the fundamentals of handling high-risk loads as well as the legal responsibilities associated with lift trucks.

Specific forklift training program topics include:

• Classes and types of lift trucks
• Relevant legislation
• Lift truck features and safety equipment
• Basic hydraulics
• Pre-operational inspection
• Start-up (mounting and dismounting)
• Stability principles of lift trucks
• Travelling without a load
• Travelling with a load
• Capacity and load charts
• Load handling (picking up a load)
• Load lifting and handling—elevated level–stacking
• Operating hazards and precautions
• Refueling (propane exchange only) and recharging (battery hazards)
• Shutdown procedures (parking)

You will learn through classroom interaction with experienced instructors, exploring legislative requirements, demonstration and hands-on training on a specific class of lift truck, practical skills testing evaluation on the class of lift truck used at your workplace, and detailed handouts, videos, and quizzes.

Your employer has a clear duty to establish the competence of any worker with relevant and comprehensive training.

Trust ACUTE For Your Forklift Safety Training Needs!

You can trust ACUTE to help your business understand your training challenges while also taking care of the most crucial aspect of a safety program: providing unparalleled tailoring and customer service.

Here are just a few things you can expect when training with ACUTE:

• Open Door Instructor-Student Partnership – ACUTE’s training services emphasize client participation. Staff want to build relationships with clients and serve as a touchstone for advice anytime moving forward.
• Serving Your Team and Industry – With a vast array of clients in manufacturing, construction, health, academic, and government agencies, ACUTE brings the best safety practices from across the spectrum to your workplace.
• 100 Years Combined Experience – ACUTE provides comprehensive health and safety training, on-site safety services, and consulting services. With over 100 years of combined experience, our staff offer more than theoretical or abstract ideas. ACUTE offers solutions.
• Track Record of Success – ACUTE is rated 4.9/5 stars on Google reviews, demonstrating a commitment to our clients, quality, and passion for training.

Read more testimonials here.

ACUTE is located in Waterloo, Ontario, and services customers from cities such as Toronto, Mississauga, Brampton, Hamilton, Milton, Kitchener, London, Guelph, and others across Ontario.