What is OSHA’s NEP and How Does It Impact Your Forklift Safety Efforts?
In July 2023, OSHA announced its National Emphasis Program (NEP), a new, nationwide initiative aimed at improving forklift safety within selected industries and in selected companies that have high rates of forklift accidents.
The forklift directive is part of an industrywide initiative that aims to reduce workplace injuries, illnesses, and fatalities by directing resources to establishments where hazards are prevalent and where employers need to be more proactive in addressing worker safety.
OSHA targeted warehouses, distribution centers, processing facilities, and certain high-risk retail operations for this new program. Within those facilities, OSHA highlighted improved forklift safety as one of its key areas of enforcement.
NEPs are not new regulations, but rather, focused enforcement campaigns that allow OSHA to prioritize inspections and direct hazard mitigation resources to industrial segments and specific companies where safety data analysis and injury reports have raised a red flag.
What Are The 5 Key Elements of NEP?
1. Comprehensive Forklift Safety Inspections
OSHA plans to increase the number of inspections and expand thoroughness. These inspections will focus on both equipment and procedures. Forklifts must be in good operating condition, and equipment hazards must be addressed. Brakes, tires, forks, and safety devices must operate within manufacturers’ specifications. The program also covers charging stations, an area with the potential for grave workplace injuries.
2. Ergonomic Considerations
Workplace injury reduction is a key element of NEP. Forklift operation must not lead to bodily harm from overextension or fatigue. Schedules and workplace environmental conditions should allow operators to apply complete concentration to the task of operating a forklift.
3. Auditing of Safety and Maintenance Procedures
OSHA will look for documented safety inspections conducted at the beginning of each shift. A more thorough inspection of the forklift’s physical condition should also be conducted on a regular basis–monthly or quarterly. Complete maintenance and repair records, as well as schedules for maintenance and replacement of parts that suffer wear and tear, must be available for inspection.
A comprehensive fleet management system can help warehouse and distribution center operators organize all this information for reporting purposes and to make their facility safer and more efficient.
4. Training and Skill Maintenance
A key element of NEP is ensuring that operators are thoroughly familiar with the forklift they are operating and are aware of the importance of pedestrian safety in their facilities. OSHA will want facilities to have a mechanism for refreshing and upgrading operator skills as the level of forklift technology increases. Each operator should have an up-to-date operator certificate available for inspection.
Apex’s on-site group training will ensure your operators are skilled and certified to operate the vehicles in your facility. We also help manage the record-keeping required by OSHA.
5. Warehouse and Dock Safety
Another element of NEP is to reduce injuries to pedestrians who work in the presence of forklifts and other powered industrial vehicles. Thus, part of NEP’s inspections will focus on the facility’s layout. Inspectors will look for dedicated lanes for pedestrians and vehicles, appropriate aisle widths, and racks with sufficient capacity for load storage. Particular attention will be paid to docks, an area in which a large number of forklift-related injuries take place.
How Apex Can Help
Apex offers a wide variety of services to keep your operators safe, your operation productive, and your facility OSHA-compliant.
- Forklift operator training and recertification
- Forklift maintenance services ranging from spare parts to complete fleet management
- Facility layout and design creating safe workflow patterns for forklifts and pedestrians
- Battery and charger services
- Forklift & facility safety upgrades
- Replacement of aging and inefficient forklifts
- Facility safety audits and layout change recommendations for enhanced efficiency
- OSHA compliance consultation
In addition to helping clients meet OSHA’s NEP objectives, Apex supports ongoing industry-wide safety awareness efforts. The Industrial Truck Association (ITA), which represents over 90% of forklift manufacturers in North America, spearheads National Forklift Safety Day as a high-profile initiative to boost awareness around powered industrial truck safety. Held annually since its inception in 2014, this event features expert panels, operator training insights, cutting-edge safety technology showcases, and live-streamed sessions aimed at educating operators, warehouse personnel, and policymakers.
OSHA’s NEP aims to reduce accidents and injuries in warehouses, distribution centers, and retail operations where forklifts are used. Apex’s goal is to help you comply with that mission while improving your facility’s throughput and profitability.
Contact the Apex experts today and learn why Apex is the national leader in offering a wide range of material handling services to warehouses, distribution centers, manufacturing locations, and retail outlets.