The Industrial Truck Association (ITA) wants to renew its partnership agreement with the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) next year.

Since February 2006, about 150 OSHA inspectors have attended day-long seminars in eight cities that included approximately 200 PowerPoint presentations and hands-on forklift inspection demonstrations.

OSHA in 2005 requested ITA develop a seminar for its compliance officers that contains best practices for powered industrial truck use.

The ITA enthusiastically embraced the challenge.

ITA president James Malvaso told association members they had an "unprecedented opportunity" to help educate the individuals charged with enforcing safe workplace laws and that they took advantage of it.

"ITA's member companies and their dealers provide instructors' manuals and a working environment. It's a substantial investment of association resources but along with statistics and technical specifications these seminars are an integral part of [our] work."

ITA and OSHA signed an agreement in April 2004 to jointly promote safe use of powered industrial trucks in workplaces. After OSHA assistant secretary of labour John Henshaw addressed ITA's annual meeting in 2004, both organisations instituted website linkages, developed an information package outlining OSHA workplace requirements, discussed OSHA's voluntary programs and agreed to co-operate on other activities.

Stan Simpson, ITA's incoming president and Kalmar RT president, says ITA expects to sign a two-year extension with OSHA at its April 2008 meeting in Washington. OSHA assistant secretary of labour Edwin Foulke will be delivering the keynote address.

Established in 1917, ITA represents over 20 forklift manufacturers and 50 of their suppliers who do business in the US, Canada or Mexico.