제  목 : NEW OSHA TRAINING STANDARD TO SAVE LIVES, REDUCE INJURIES
  일  자 : 1998년 12월
  제공처 : Internet

     NEW OSHA TRAINING STANDARD TO SAVE LIVES, REDUCE INJURIES
     =========================================================

  An estimated 11 deaths and 9,500 injuries will be prevented and $135
  million in employer costs will be saved each year as the result of new
  safety training requirements for operators of fork lifts and other
  powered industrial trucks.

  The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) today released
  the training standards for the more than 1.5 million workers who operate
  such equipment.

  The new training standards apply to operators in general industry and in
  the construction and maritime(shipyards, longshoring and marine terminals)
  industries.

  "Each year about 100 workers are killed and almost 95,000 injured in
  industrial truck accidents. Providing the proper training for the drivers
  will help reduce that toll," said OSHA Administrator Charles N. Jeffress.

  Of the estimated $135 million in annual savings, $83 million will be
  saved in reduced direct costs such as medical savings, administering
  workers' compensation, and value of lost output. Another $52 million
  annually will be saved in reduced accident-related property damage.
  Total costs of compliance are estimated at $16.9 million annually.

  Powered industrial trucks are used to carry, push, pull, lift, stack or
  tier material. The standards do not cover vehicles used for earth moving
  or over-the-road hauling.

  The new standards require a training program based on the trainee's prior
  knowledge and skill, types of powered industrial trucks used in the
  workplace, hazards in the workplace and the operator's demonstrated
  ability to handle a powered industrial truck safely.

  Evaluation of each operator's performance is required as part of the
  initial and refresher training, and at least once every three years.

  OSHA adopted its former powered industrial truck standards in 1971.

  Since 1971, various organizations and individuals, including members of
  Congress, have asked OSHA to improve its training requirements for powered
  industrial truck operators. The American Society of Mechanical Engineers
  substantially upgraded its training provisions for such operators and the
  Industrial Truck Association, whose members manufacture the trucks,
  petitioned OSHA to revise its training requirements.

  The new standards are published in the Tuesday, Dec. 1, 1998, Federal
  Register.

  States and territories with their own occupational safety and health
  plans are to adopt comparable standards within six months.

  The effective date for the standards is March 1, 1999.

  (Editor's Note: See Attached Fact Sheet for Highlights of New Training
  Standards.)

  The text of this news release is on the Internet World Wide Web
  at http://www.osha.gov.

  Information on this news release will be made available to sensory
  impaired individuals upon request. Voice phone: 202-693-1999.