NATIONAL FORKLIFTSAFETY DAY

A SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT TO DC VELOCITY 1

ON JUNE 9, THE INDUSTRIAL TRUCK ASSOCIATION (ITA)will host our seventh annual National Forklift Safety Day.The impact of Covid- 19 continues to pose challenges forour nation. Due to these challenges, ITA’s National ForkliftSafety Day (NFSD) 2020 will be held as a virtual eventon June 9, starting at 9 a.m. Eastern time. The programcan be viewed by visiting the ITA’s website, www.indtrk.org, or DC VELOCITY’s website, www.

DCVelocity.com.

Covid- 19 continues to have a majorimpact on our country and on the safetyand health of the nation’s workforce. ITAmembers, as manufacturers, employers,and members of their communities, aredoing their part to help the countrythrough these unprecedented times.

The use of forklifts and other poweredindustrial trucks (PITs) is integral tovirtually every supply chain in everyindustry. ITA members’ productsoperate in all 50 states in over 300industries. The top industries includewarehousing, grocery wholesaling, and trucking. Everycritically needed supply category—medicine, medicaldevices, personal protective equipment (PPE), food andbeverage, and more—is moved by a forklift at one ormore points in the supply chain. It has never been moreimportant to highlight and reinforce the message offorklift safety.

Safety remains one of ITA’s top priorities. Through
a longstanding alliance, ITA works closely with the
Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) in
conducting compliance-officer training seminars on forklift
safety. The OSHA-ITA Alliance is now in its 16th year, and
our training program is in its 14th year. We have trained
hundreds of OSHA compliance officers and consultation
personnel on the safe use of our products, supplying them
with workplace safety materials and communicating
specialized forklift safety information. In addition, ITA
partners with the American National Standards Institute,
the Industrial Truck Standards Development Foundation,
and the International Organization for Standardization
to develop forklift safety standards and work toward
harmonizing them for the global
marketplace.
Creating awareness regarding safety
and the need for operator training has
always been one of the fundamental
aims of National Forklift Safety Day. In
fact, the number of forklift accidents
each year is about one-half of what
it was 20 years ago, even though the
number of forklifts in use has increased.
Most of that decline followed OSHA’s
adoption of a vastly improved operator-
training regulation in 1998. We’re
working to continue that progress.
ITA’s 26 Regular Members manufacture
PITs (most of which are forklifts), and its 38 Associate
Members manufacture PIT components, attachments,
and accessories. ITA’s membership accounts for over
90% of the PITs sold in the United States. We stand
ready to support the continuity of operations and service
delivery for essential products and services this country
needs during the Covid- 19 outbreak.