OSHA hands down lift-truck driver training rules

By Staff -- Logistics Management, 3/1/1999

Logistics managers beware. New federal regulations that require employers to certify the competency of their lift-truck drivers go into effect this month. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) in December issued new training regulations that cover all operators of powered industrial trucks.

Under the new regulations, employers have until the end of this year to evaluate their lift-truck operators' performance. In addition to a personal evaluation of each operator's fitness, companies must offer an overall training program as well as specific training for the equipment being operated. Starting in the year 2000, employers will be required to verify drivers' competency every three years.

When OSHA first proposed the regulations, some warehousing groups expressed concern that training requirements would impose an additional burden on their operations. At least one group that was critical of the original proposal has since expressed support. "We believe that it's a reasonable standard," says Michael Jenkins, president and CEO of the International Warehouse Logistics Association (IWLA), an organization that represents public warehouses and third-party logistics companies.

Jenkins, however, expresses concern that the new regulations do not address the issue of license "portability" for operators. "If a person leaves your company and goes to work for another, that person still must be trained," he says. "I can't run the risk of OSHA citing me for not providing the training." OSHA spokesman Frank Kane disagrees with Jenkins' assessment, noting that companies must evaluate new operators for competency, but not necessarily retrain them.

Jenkins says he also expects the new rules will lead OSHA to require lift-truck operators to wear seat belts. "If you train people, you will tell them about seat-belt use," he says. "It's anticipated that OSHA will cite companies that don't mandate the use of seat belts on forklifts."

The Industrial Truck Association, a trade group representing makers of lift trucks and components, had petitioned OSHA to tighten its training standards as far back as 1988. The association hoped that the existence of more stringent training requirements might shield its members from product-liability suits stemming from workers' accidents.

OSHA says its new training regulations will prevent an estimated 11 deaths and 9,500 injuries each year while saving employers some $135 million annually in medical costs, workers' compensation payments, and accident-related property damage.

Editor's note: For details and additional information on the lift-truck rules, visit the Logistics Web site at www.logisticsmgmt.com.