Powered Industrial Trucks (PITs) General Awareness

1. Powered Industrial Trucks (PITs) General Awareness BGSU Environmental Health and Safety Department 5/25/2006

2. Outline • Importance of the PIT Program and Procedures • OSHA’s PIT Standard • BGSU’s PIT Program • EH&S Assistance

3. PIT Definition • An industrial vehicle that carries, pushes, pulls, stacks or tiers loads. • Include fork trucks, platform lift trucks, motorized hand trucks, and other specialized industrial trucks powered by electric motors or internal combustion engines. • Excludes vehicles that are used for earth-moving or over the road hauling and compressed air or nonflammable compressed gas-operated industrial trucks

4. Importance of PIT Program & Procedures • PIT accidents cause approximately 100 fatalities and 36,340 serious injuries in general industry and construction annually. • Approximately 20-25 % of the accidents are caused by inadequate training. Reference: http://www.osha.gov

5. Importance of a PIT Program & Procedures June 4, 2003 A man died from injuries suffered in an accident involving the forklift he was operating. He leaned out of the front of a "Bobcat" type of loader to retrieve an item off the ground and the tool belt he was wearing got caught on a lever, activating it. This caused the front forks of the vehicle to lower, pinning him between the forks and the body of the forklift. Reference: www.safteng.net

6. OSHA’s PIT Standard29CFR1910.178 • Design requirements • Safe operation requirements • Fire protection requirements • Maintenance requirements including daily inspections

7. OSHA’s PIT Standard29CFR1910.178 • Operator training program including classroom and hands-on training • Refresher training as needed • Operator evaluations every three years • Operator certification • Appendix A : Stability information

8. BGSU’s PIT Program • Initial classroom and hands-on training was offered in 1999. • The training was provided by an outside consultant who has since gone out of business. • In order to provide a more cost effective, easily accessible training program, EH&S will work with departments on campus to develop department specific PIT training sessions consisting of a combination of classroom and hands-on training.

9. BGSU’s PIT ProgramIntroduction • Occupational Safety and Health Specialist Responsibilities include: • coordinating the PIT program; • assisting departments with implementation and training; and • updating and evaluating BGSU’s PIT Program.

10. BGSU’s PIT ProgramIntroduction • Supervisor Responsibilities include: • attending training offered by EH&S; • designating an employee in each department that has the knowledge, training, and experience to provide hands-on training for PIT operators; • locating and keeping PIT instruction manuals; • completeing required documentation for each PIT; • ensuring all employees under their supervision have received training and comply with requirements; and • providing hands-on training for PIT operators.

11. BGSU’s PIT ProgramIntroduction • PIT Operator Responsibilities include: • attending required training and completely adhering to the requirements of this program; and • performing powered industrial truck inspections for every eight-hour shift.

12. BGSU’s PIT ProgramWorksite Specific Info • Work site specific information will be gathered by the Occupational Safety and Health Specialist in conjunction with the area supervisor using the following forms found in Appendix B. • Site Specific Operating Environment • Site Specific Load Information • Site Specific Controls and Instrumentation List • Examples Located in Tab 2.

13. BGSU’s PIT ProgramOperating Procedures • Operation • Traveling • Load Lifting and Carrying • Fuel Handling and Storage • Battery Charging • Carbon Monoxide Awareness • Pedestrians • Trucks • Vehicle Inspection (Sample form found in Appendix D) • Maintenance

14. BGSU’s PIT ProgramTraining • PIT –Part 1 (This Session) • PIT – Part 2 • Classroom Training • To be developed in conjunction with individual departments and provided by EH&S and will be more specific. • Hands-on Training • Provided by a designated employee in each department that has the knowledge, training, and experience to train operators and evaluate their competency using the sample obstacle courses and on-truck checklists located in Appendix E. • Certification • A complete list of licensed operators and a copy of the BGSU license is located in Appendix E.

15. BGSU’s PIT ProgramRefresher Training • An operator has been observed to operate the vehicle in an unsafe manner; or • the operator has been involved in an accident or near miss; or • the operator is assigned to a different truck; or • the conditions change in an area where the PIT is operated; or • a new truck is brought into use; or • the operator has received an evaluation that reveals he/she is not operating the PIT safely.

16. BGSU’s PIT ProgramTraining • Operator Evaluations • Must be completed once every three years. • A sample form is located in Appendix G. • Accident Reporting • Accident reporting must be completed using the BGSU Accident Investigation form and if needed the BGSU Injury/Illness Report if an operator is involved in PIT accident or near miss.

17. BGSU’s PIT ProgramAppendices • A: Definitions • B: Site Specific Information Forms • C: PIT Inventory • D: PIT Pre-Operation Checklist Forms • E: Obstacle Courses and On-Truck Checklist • F: PIT Licensed Operators and Certification Card • G: PIT Operator Evaluation Forms

18. EH&S’s Assistance • Environmental Health and Safety will assist departments with: • Worksite Specific Information • Training • Contact Environmental Health and Safety at 372-2171 for a department consultation.