OSHA aligns with Association of Equipment Manufacturers

The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM) have formed a new Alliance to provide rough terrain forklift or telehandler owners and operators with information, guidance and access to training resources in multiple languages that will help them protect construction employees' health and safety.

"This cooperative alliance clearly illustrates our commitment to reducing construction safety and health hazards, while promoting best practices and technical knowledge for the construction industry," said Assistant Secretary of Labor for OSHA Edwin G. Foulke Jr. "We are committed to working together to develop and provide safety and health information to help employees and employers reduce workplace injuries, illnesses, and fatalities."

The OSHA and AEM Alliance will focus on hazards related to operating telehandlers in the workplace, such as ground conditions, machine mobility and overloading, as well as hoisting employees improperly. The Alliance will develop information on the recognition and prevention of workplace hazards, and provide expertise in developing ways of communicating such information to employers and employees in the industry. OSHA and AEM will develop and provide training and education programs for telehandler operators and "workers on foot." In addition, Alliance members will promote the national dialogue on workplace safety and health by participating in forums, roundtable discussions and stakeholder meetings to forge innovative solutions to hazards in the construction industry.

"AEM and its member manufacturers are committed to fostering safe equipment operation and we have worked closely with OSHA for many years toward this end. This new Alliance is just the latest example of our industry's proactive education and training efforts," stated AEM president Dennis Slater. AEM is comprised of 750 member companies that manufacture equipment, products and services used worldwide in the agriculture, construction, forestry, mining and utility fields.