OSHA Regulations for Forklift Certification

According to the Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA), many thousands of employees are injured in forklift accidents each year. Requirements such as certification help to ensure that the work environment is safe and operational quality is monitored.

Purpose

• Forklift operators receive new training when operating in a different work area.

  The OSHA requires forklift certification for each operator. This, along with proper hands-on training, ensures that an operator is knowledgeable in the safe use, operation and maintenance of a forklift. This can help to reduce accidents and ensure that only those with the right training use the equipment.

Features

• An operator's certification form must include his name, when training was completed, the name of the trainer and when the operator was evaluated. Training and certification must be completed before the worker is allowed to operate the forklift independently. Additionally, operators must be 18 years old or older in order to operate a forklift.

Other Considerations

• The operator must complete new training when she will be driving a different model forklift or will be operating one in a different work environment. The operator must be evaluated before certification is given, and an evaluation must be performed every three years.