Many industries in New Zealand rely heavily on the use of lifts, whether mechanical or electrical. From warehouses to construction — and even emergency services, these lifts play a huge role in every organisation's day-to-day operations.
Seeing that these machines are heavy pieces of equipment, improper use may result in premature failure and serious injuries to operators and passersby. What's worse is they may even cause unnecessary and unfortunate fatalities. This is the reason lift certification has become a must-undergo process in such industries.
The scary truth about lift accidents
Search the web for incidents involving lifts and you will find that from 2013 to 2016, the WorkSafe New Zealand received a total of five reported accidents — all involving fatalities. These do not include those that resulted in injuries, whether minor or serious. The scary reality is that many of these lift-related accidents have resulted from improper use of the equipment, non-certified users operating the machines, and failure to maintain the lift properly and regularly.
Training lift operators: Key to reducing hazards and dangers
All organisations should have all their lift operators undergo certification, whether they belong in the transport, postal, warehousing, manufacturing, wholesale trading, or construction sector. Before lift operators start working with heavy machines, they first need to go through serious training and pass rigorous examinations. Only then will they receive their certificate.
This means that certified lift operators have displayed the necessary knowledge, training, expertise, and skills in handling such machinery. Therefore, they are less likely to become victims of lift accidents, or even cause incidents that may hurt others or damage the equipment.
As you can see, certification really does play a major role in ensuring the safety and security not only of the operators themselves, but the other people they work with too.
