The Industrial Truck Association (ITA) held its fifth annual National Forklift Safety Day on June 12th. The event serves as an opportunity for forklift manufacturers to highlight the safe use of forklifts, the value of forklift operator training, and the need for daily equipment checks.
“National Forklift Safety Day emphasizes the importance of forklift operator and pedestrian safety and best practices,” says Scott Johnson, vice president of marketing and sales for CLARK Material Handling Company and chairman of ITA. “Working together, stakeholders, from manufacturers and dealers to employers and safety officials, will help lead to a continued decline in accident rates.”
This year’s speakers, along with elected officials and industry representatives, discussed the effectiveness of training to support successful safety programs across a broad spectrum of industries. The event raises awareness on the value of safety to those who produce, operate, and work on or around forklifts.
“ITA’s National Forklift Safety Day has become a yearly event to educate customers, policymakers and the administration on forklift operating safety practices,” says Brian Feehan, president of ITA. “Not only are we holding important sessions on worker safety in Washington, D.C., we encourage ITA members throughout the country to participate at their locations as well.”
As part of National Forklift Safety Day, many ITA members and their dealers are sponsoring forklift safety events for their customers, which includes free safety consultations, distributing safety materials, operator training and hosting open houses.
Furthering its mission to raise awareness and improve safety, ITA has continued its alliance with Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to provide Compliance Officer Training Seminars to OSHA inspectors across the country. ITA has presented the seminar to more than 600 OSHA personnel and covered all of OSHA’s 12 regions. OSHA estimates that about 70% of forklift accidents in the U.S. could be prevented with proper training.
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