I have a client with nearly 200 forklifts. Only 9 of them have strobe lights.

When I inquired about this, the plant engineer said he saved his company a lot of money by ordering forklifts with no strobes. Inside his distribution center, strobes offer little, if any, advantage to his employees, since they work only one shift, lighting is good, and there is plenty of room for maneuvering throughout their large building including the dock area. Operators are well-trained and supervised. The company has been an OSHA VPP facility for at least 8 years. So, I agree with kevin_t.

However, If there are circumstances where strobes were the likely solution to a recognized hazard, I believe OSHA would require them under the general duty clause (low light conditions, congested or crowded work environment, transient pedestrians, construction zones, etc.) The fact that some warehouse forklifts come with strobes appears to be more of a tort protection for the manufacturers/dealers, and to a lesser extent, an OSHA one.

In my opinion, a job/hazard analysis; a bit of testing; and/or a study of past, relevant serious injuries, fatalities, and court transcripts goes a long way toward answering the practical question of whether strobes are needed to protect YOUR company's interests.

Best wishes,

Joe Monaco
Founder and CEO
Lift Truck Operating Resources (LIFTOR)