If you utilize aerial lifts (scissor, boom, rough terrain fork lifts) in your business, you are required by OSHA to provide appropriate training to your operators; and if that training was performed by an equipment rental company, you would expect that training to be effective and complete. Right?!--Maybe…
You may have simply received “equipment familiarization” and received a signed certificate for it.
Per ANSI/OSHA Standards, TRAINING must include 12 information/ instruction components and include equipment demonstration proficiency.
This cannot be accomplished with a 1-hour video! Could you imagine if learning to drive an automobile was taught this way?
For years now the aerial lift industry has been relying on the OEM’s “canned” training materials - usually a video or DVD provided by local aerial lift dealers to achieve the ANSI/OSHA requirement of “qualified person” status for operators. As we are finding out, this simple approach just does not do a good enough job of providing appropriate safety training to operators.
It must be recognized that aerial rental companies are in the business of renting lifts; an essential part of today’s construction and industrial environments - but they are not in the operator training business nor do they really have a desire to do so.
Per OSHA’s online Workman’s Comp Estimator a $5,000.00 claim would result in over $366,000.00 worth of direct, indirect and sales costs to compensate for the claim.(http://www.osha.gov/dcsp/smallbusiness/safetypays/estimator.html)
Get your employees Appropriate Training today!
Call Safety Training Services, Inc. at Toll Free: 877-724-2744 or IN: 219-554-2180 to discuss your training requirements today.
