Safety and health issues are constantly being highlighted around Australia due to a number of incidents. All States have introduced WorkSafe regulations that require their heavy equipment operators to take up training courses in order to ensure that their employees are able to work safely. There have also been guidelines issued by government health and safety organisations regarding the training requirements for forklift operators in Australia.
The Australian Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA) were introduced in 1977, with the intention of creating a national framework for ensuring the protection of workers from health and safety hazards. It mainly intends to protect those who perform forklift operations, including operators, from falling objects, hazardous materials and dangerous situations on the work site. The majority of the OHSA laws focus on employers, with some sections being aimed at providing workers with information about the hazards they are exposed to while working, such as forklift license infections.
Forklift training in Australia is provided by employers and is not covered by the OHSA. In the United Kingdom, forklift training is offered by a number of professional body organizations and there are several forklift training courses located across the country. forklift safety training covers a range of topics such as the basics of forklift operation, how to identify hazards, how to stop dangerous situations, and other general information. A heavy equipment operator’s training course can be taken either on-site by a training provider or through an approved training program provided by a school, college or other approved training centre.