What Are OSHA Regulations for Using Forklift Tips to Push Heavy Loads?

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) doesn’t include specific regulations on whether it’s recommended to push heavy loads using forklift tips. However, the load does need to be safely arranged and stable. If not, the driver could be violating OSHA regulations requiring safe loads. Using polyethylene fork blade protectors will also assist in preventing damaging loads that are pushed using forklift tips. Read on to find out more about forklift safety regulations.

Proper uses of forklift tips

OSHA forklift regulations state that this use could be hazardous in instances where loads are not safely and stably arranged. This practice can be potentially hazardous for forklift drivers and any pedestrians who are nearby. It’s also worth noting that forklift tips aren’t designed to be used in a bulldozing manner. Employees using a forklift are required by law to receive training per the operator’s manual on necessary instructions, warnings and precautions.

Forklift safety training

Use of forklift tips is just one area that would be covered in comprehensive safety training. Employers must develop and institute a training program on the basic principles of operating a forklift safely, and should tailor their program to the types of vehicles used in the workplace. Trained operators must know how to do the job safely and pass workplace evaluations. Both classroom and hands-on training must be provided. Every operator needs to receive training and evaluation at least once every three years.

Initial training content must include all the following topics:

• Operating instructions
• Warnings and precautions for type of vehicle used
• Visibility
• Vehicle capacity
• Vehicle stability
• Operating limitations
• Control and instrumentation location and use
• Fork attachment limitations and use
• Engine and motor operation
• Refueling or charging batteries
• Other operating instructions included in operator’s manual

Forklift safety best practices

In order to ensure safe forklift operation, here are some basic tips to keep in mind:

• Seatbelt use: If you’re in a moving car, truck or other vehicle, you know to put on your seatbelt. The same goes for forklifts. If you’re operating a sit-down forklift, then it’s a requirement to wear a seatbelt. This commonsense rule will ensure better worker safety.
• No riders: No one is allowed to join the operator on the forklift unless it is a two-seater model with proper seatbelts designed for more than one person to use.
• Only raise and lower loads while stopped: It’s never recommended to raise or lower a load while the forklift is in motion. This shifting of weight is dangerous and could easily cause the operator to lose control of the load.
• Sound horn at blind corners and intersections: This rule is intended to protect workers nearby when forklifts are being operated. Workers being struck and injured by forklifts in warehouses and factories is all too common. Sounding the horn warns others of the operator’s approach.

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Categorised in: Forklift Training, Heavy Equipment Safety

This post was written by Writer