Author: Jeff Ord, ForkliftSafety.com
“OSHA Approved On-line Forklift Operator Safety Training”, as advertised on their websites are inaccurate and deceiving when they have published a set fee and are charging money for OSHA operator training and certification. This is contradictive of the OSHA Standard, 29 CFR 1910.178, para. (L), Operator Training…giving false hope to individuals needing employment who want training in order to be hired as a forklift operator. Most importantly, it is a huge safety concern for operators that are being improperly trained on-line, then given a bogus certification card not knowing that they have not satisfied any of OSHA’s forklift operator training requirements.
All of OSHA’s forklift operator safety training must be site and equipment specific. Upon completion it is the employer’s responsibility to certify that each forklift operator has been properly trained, tested, evaluated and authorized. Properly trained and authorized forklift operators are not certified, they are authorized, and the employer certifies that they have fully met OSHA’s training standard.
Many On-Line forklift operator training websites are claiming to provide a service that is certified by OSHA or meets OSHA’s training requirements for operator forklift training. Per OSHA’s guidelines (OSHA standard 29 CFR 1910.178(l)(2)(ii) https://www.osha.gov/etools/powered-industrial-trucks/training), On-Line training is not sufficient as classroom and hands-on training…and practical training is required to ensure that the employee actually knows how to safely operate the employer’s specific forklift(s) in the employer’s workplace. OSHA clearly states that, “Training shall consist of a combination of formal instruction (e.g., lecture, discussion, interactive computer learning, video tape, written material), practical training (demonstrations performed by the trainer and practical exercises performed by the trainee), and evaluation of the operator’s performance in the workplace.”
It is up to each employer to certify that each employee is trained on the equipment that they will be using, per OSHA 29CFR (1910.178(l)(6), “Certification. The employer shall certify that each operator has been trained and evaluated as required by this paragraph (l). The certification shall include the name of the operator, the date of the training, the date of the evaluation, and the identity of the person(s) performing the training or evaluation.”It is imperative to enforce OSHA’s present forklift driver training standard and put an end to “On-Line Training” that is rapidly becoming a distorted belief and method of training for employer acceptance from individuals seeking employment to become forklift operators.
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