Visual Examination Standard for Forklift and Crane Operators: A Report for 66 Operators of a Factory in Mumbai.

Context: Forklift and crane industry in India is progressing at a rapid pace and the visual integrity of the operators is crucial for occupational safety. Hence, we performed a vision screening at a factory based in Mumbai.

Aims: To evaluate the current visual status of forklift and crane operators working at a factory in Mumbai.

Settings And Design: Prospective observational cross-sectional.

Methods And Materials: All forklift and crane operators were invited to undertake visual examination that included visual acuity (VA) assessment, refraction, slit-lamp examination, color vision assessment, visual field assessment, and stereopsis. Referrals were made for participants who needed further assessment.

Statistical Analysis Used: Mean and standard deviation were calculated and presented.

Results: A total of 66 forklift operators with an average age of 48 years that ranged from 26-60 years completed the study. The average distance VA in LogMAR with current spectacles was 0.1 ± 0.14. The near VA with usual spectacles averaged at 0.63 M ± 0.2 M. The best-corrected VA (BCVA) of 0 LogMAR was not achieved by 12% subjects; however, all participants except one met the 0.3 LogMAR visual acuity criteria. The average stereopsis was 55.8 ± 47.8 with 8% operators had lower than acceptable levels of stereopsis while 7% could not meet the set criteria. One operator had 400 s of an arc and 4 had 100 s of arc stereopsis.

Conclusions: The study demonstrates an urgent need to set up standards for vision assessment at the time of employment and frequency of eye examination for forklift and other powered industrial vehicles.