Do My Operators Need To Wear Their Seat Belts?

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) does not have specific rules regarding operators and seat belts. However, if your forklifts don’t have driver’s seat belt, the OSHA can mandate you to install them. In addition, OSHA requires employers to protect their employees from recognized hazards. Crushing and entrapment are serious hazards and so if you own a truck you should ensure that there are safety belts or operator restraint systems to protect operators from such hazards.

OSHA requires operators to wear seat belts when working. It is the duty of the employer to ensure that the seat belts are worn at all times. If forklifts Toronto operators do not wear seat belts, the company will be cited for failure to comply with the OSHA standards that require employers to protect their employees from recognized hazards. The employer may be required to pay a penalty for failing to comply.

Ignoring the OSHA recommendations and failing to wear safety belts is dangerous and both the employer and employee will be held accountable. For employees, even if one is not fined, they may end up with serious damages and lose their source of livelihood. Employers can be fined hundreds of thousands of dollars for failing to stress on the importance of safety precautions to their employees. In the year 2008, OSHA proposed a fine of $119,500 against a company that failed to adhere to safety regulations. Thus, employers need to emphasize on this so as to keep employees safe and avoid fines.

In addition to educating the operators, the company can also employ the use of intelligent systems that alert the management when the seat belt is not worn. For some systems, the lift truck will not start unless the operator is wearing a seat belt. It’s a good investment that will protect the employees and the company’s property.