Good morning all.....we also issue cards after all the training is completed and we also keep the training evaluation completion form in the individuals training folder and on a master training file on our computers. Like was stated above the operators have to be re-evaluated a minimum of every three years, some companies do it more often. But along with the dates on the evaluation certificate, we also put the dates on the issued cards so the operators and mangers can tell right away if an operator is still certified to operate a piece of equipement. It works for our company.
Hope everyone has a safe and Happy Holiday season...and Merry Christmas.
As I read 29CFR1910.178, there IS however a requirement that the trainer retain the proof of training for 3 years, so whoever did your training will have some sort documentation anyway. it's not the operators responsibility, it is shared between the employer and the trainer
Our part time operators are motivated financially to carry the card, (8 dollar an hour bump).
There was an OSHA inspection a few years ago, and because a company had a safety sign that read "all forklift operators are required to have in there posession a valid operators certificate", the company was cited for violating its own safety policy when some operators werent carrying.
As to half with and half without ID cards being an issue, it depends upon who is doing the auditing, and what standards they are representing. If you were using a proprietary service company to track ID cards, I'm sure the "issue" would be cause for concern, as this could be a contractual standard. And then there are the "real" standards that operators use no matter what.
It is your own operators with whom I'd be concerned. In these uncertain times, operators are NOT given to complaining out loud to their employers (hear: quietly angry). Yet, privately some will have already considered absurdity #251 as an example of yet another reason to believe that "management" is indecisive, secretive, arrogant...and next week they might find themselves in the wrong half.
For your management's credibility, it might be a good idea to simply let everyone know that the experiment with ID Cards for operators will officially end on a specific date; they will no longer be issued anew; and carrying them is purely optional. If you do this, expect 25 year hence that a few of the old-timers are still carrying their card!
Best wishes,
Joe
Thanks Joe,
We implemented an operator certification card three years ago with pretty good success but with some operators losing or forgetting their cards management has decided not to use cards moving forward. My concern is that we have set a Precedent by implementing these three years prior and they have failed to announce to all that cards are no longer required so we have some with cards and some without. Could this be an issue if we are audited?
In OSHA 29 CFR 1910.178 there is NO requirement that the operator carry an ID badge or card. However, the EMPLOYER is required to keep certain records that are specified in 1910.178 (l): the section on operator training.
There are other good "non-regulatory" reasons for providing the operator with his or her personal credentials though. Especially, if there is a rigorous test during which the operator has to demonstrate valid, work-related skills, the credential(s) tend to have real meaning to those taking their safe and productive skills seriously. Some employers set the pace for such seriousness by subscribing to forklift safety services that will produce and track the credentials for them. Beware though, if you subscribe to such a service, you are best served to use them only if they bring to you a rigorous set of standards for earning the credentials...and you actually want to use such standards that usually go way beyond simple regulatory compliance.
Best wishes,
Joe