I enjoyed reading the comments from everyone. One last little piece from a letter of interpretation from OSHA is below and further clarifies what it may take to train on certain type of lifts or attachments. It would have been easier and better if they have laid out specific trainer criteria in the standard, but at least this helps:

Background: 29 CFR 1910.178(l)(2)(iii) states: All operator training and evaluation shall be conducted by persons who have the knowledge, training, and experience to train powered industrial truck operators and evaluate their competence.

Scenario: Driver instructor examiners are training some powered industrial truck (PIT) operators. The driver instructor examiners have been certified to teach PIT operator training, however they do not operate PITs on a regular basis or as part of their job function and responsibility.

Question: What does OSHA mean by the word "experience" in 29 CFR 1910.178(l)(2)(iii)? Specifically, does it mean that the trainers must be certified to train drivers to operate PITs, or does it mean that the trainers must operate PITs on a regular basis as part of their job function and responsibility?

Reply: A trainer must have the "knowledge, training, and experience" to train others how to safely operate the powered industrial truck in the employer's workplace. In general, the trainer will only have sufficient "experience" if he has the practical skills and judgment to be able to himself operate the equipment safely under the conditions prevailing in the employer's workplace. For example, if the employer uses certain truck attachments and the trainer has never operated a truck with those attachments, the trainer would not have the experience necessary to train and evaluate others adequately on the safe use of those attachments. However, the standard does not require that the trainers operate a PIT regularly (i.e., outside of their operator training duties) as part of their job function or responsibility.

As Joe M says, these replies have been invaluable and i have forwarded all the relevant information to my friend in Fort Worth for communication to his colleagues.

Thanks again folks.

etharp:

The case is from the North Dakota State Court (East Central Judicial District) in Fargo, North Dakota. (Filed 08/19/2002 - Closed 01/06/2006)

OLSON ROBERT E., OLSON GOLDIE vs F-M FORKLIFT SALES & SERVICE, INC., DAHLGREN & COMPANY INC./DAHLGREN

CASE NUMBER: 09-2-C-2973-1

The case has not been published so it will not be in any legal database search engine like Lexis-Nexis. The information would have to be obtained through the court clerk. There would most likely be a charge for such a service.

Tommy,

Some notes regarding your question:

1) While it is true the agency that regulates workplace safety in the states (OSHA) places the ultimate responsibility for forklift training on the employer, this task can legitimately be delegated to an outside trainer or agency.

2) Many of these "outside" trainers are certified by the various forklift manufacturers here (Toyota; Raymond; Crown, etc) or the manufacturers' local dealers. Most of these programs are excellent, but none are approved or disqualified by OSHA, as it is also true that there is no formal trainer certification process on the books as of yet.

3) At the same time, if it can be determined that the trainer of an operator or operators was not competent, careless, etc, and that training resulted in an accident (as might have been the case in the North Dakota incident) you can be sure both OSHA and a host of attorneys will be at the door.

Hope this helps.

SpeakerRich

I think the information in this post is some of the most credible and useful posting I've seen at ForkliftAction dot com!

I would also tell your friend that their is a "wrongful death" action that recently went through the court system in North Dakota where, in part, the TRAINER was sued for improperly certifying an operator AND for using an INADEQUATE INSTRUCTIONAL DESIGN!

The Trainer used a video tape, some classroom discussion, a pencil-and-paper quiz, and little else. He worked for a dealership who relied upon a third party publisher from whom the training materials were acquired. Even had he used all the published instructional materials from the 3rd party's (inadequate) design effort, the operator would still be dead.

With this emphasis on using "INADEQUATE INSTRUCTIONAL DESIGN", it seems that tort liability for OPERATOR Trainers in the USA is adding yet another layer of complication to our jobs!

Best wishes,

Joe Monaco
jmonaco at LIFTOR dot com
LIFTOR dot com

Joseph.

Thanks very much for your help. I have passed all the information to my colleague in Texas.

He is new to all the legislation stuuf over there so the replies in here have been a massive help to him.

Once again thans very much

Tommy

Tommy: Forklift instructors/trainers are not yet required to be registered or be certified in the U.S. There is also no formal training curriculum that an instructor/trainer must receive. The U.S. OSHA requirements are performance based and basically require that the trainer/instructor be qualified to teach the subject(s) listed under operator training and be qualified to evaluate the operator performance in those areas that the instructor/trainer is involved.

An instructor/trainer can freely move between different companies either as an employee of the company or as an independent trainer contracted to provide services. To provide full training and evaluation services, the instructor/trainer would have to familiarize him or her self with the types of forklifts being used, the forklift manufacturer's operator/safety manuals, the employer's forklift safety manual (if one exists) and any specific operating hazards the forklift operator is exposed to in the employer's workplace, etc.

Tommy:

Obtain a copy of U.S. OSHA 1910.178, Powered Industrial Trucks. This is the standard that sets the training requirements in all states except for Michigan general industry type operations. Google: POWERED INDUSTRIAL TRUCKS - 1910.178 and Google: POWERED INDUSTRIAL TRUCKS - 1910.178 APP A for free downloads.

If there are facilities in Michigan, you will need to obtain a copy of MIOSHA, General Industry Safety Standard, Part 21, Powered Industrial Trucks. Michigan has its own unique general industry powered industrial truck regulations. Google: DLEG GENERAL INDUSTRY and click on the Part 21 pdf for a free download. There are also other documents pertaining to industrial trucks that can be downloaded from this site.

Google: ITSDF.ORG and download a free copy of "ANSI/ITSDF B.56.1, Safety Standard for Low Lift and High Lift Trucks". Certain parts of B.56.1 have been adopted by reference.

The employer can contract for training or do it in-house. The training, minimum training content and trainer qualifications must meet the general guidelines established by the applicable standard.

OSHA has issued a few interpretations regarding training and certification that may help. Google: 10/01/1999 - POWERED INDUSTRIAL TRUCK TRAINING CONTENT and also Google: 04/10/2000 - COMPETENCY OF POWERED INDUSTRIAL TRUCK TRAINERS, TRAINING MUST BE TRUCK - AND SITE-SPECIFIC.

Other interpretations regarding powered industrial trucks can be obtained from OSHA. Google OSHA.GOV, on the home page click on interpretation, then text powered industrial truck into the responding search box and click enter.

Below are some of the OSHA requirements you will find in the OSHA 1910.178 safety standard:

1910.178(l)(1)(i)
The employer shall ensure that each powered industrial truck operator is competent to operate a powered industrial truck safely, as demonstrated by the successful completion of the training and evaluation specified in this paragraph (l). (operator training)

1910.178(l)(2)(iii)
All operator training and evaluation shall be conducted by persons who have the knowledge, training, and experience to train powered industrial truck operators and evaluate their competence.

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 identityof the person(s) performing the training or evaluation.

Thank you very much for that reply. Seems a bit less complicated in some ways compared to our training.

However, it seems from some of the posts on here that strict basic guidelines must be adhered to with all training on both sides of the Atlantic.

I will set up a training programme and documentation for them to use.