Forklift Training

Forklift Training
By Mark Washburn

Forklift safety is a critical concern in companies around the world. No matter what language is spoken, employees must understand the potential hazards and risks of operating this complex piece of machinery, whether made by Toyota, Nissan, or Clark.

Although reputable companies make it a priority to maintain the appropriate certification for operating equipment of this type, it is important also to keep on hand the most up-to-date and comprehensive written rules and policies of industry standards, as monitored by watchdog organizations like OSHA. Every employee who will be operating a forklift should be given a training manual and possibly required to take an operations course that includes information about the company’s safety program.

But sometimes a written policy is inadequate for training employees in the complex balance of functions needed to ensure a safe work environment. Research shows that people learn things in a variety of ways. Some can be taught by using print materials, like a checklist, handbook, or policy manual. Other people learn better through visualization, which is why audio-visual materials are increasingly being used for training purposes in business and industry to help employees develop a secure understanding of their jobs’ mechanical processes and prevent a possible accident from occurring.

Several factors have led to the use of a training video or dvd on many jobsites. Sometimes a warning sign was attached to the forklift cage, but often it became dirty or torn, and even detached from the machine. Another early option was to display pictures of drawings or photographs that showed how the truck and protective gear were to be used. As the need for improved training became better understood, industry supervisors developed a battery of test documents that could check an employee’s progress in learning about forklift safety and applying the rules to the job at hand.

Employees with poor reading skills, along with those who are non-native English speakers, can learn easier by watching a film demonstrating forklift safety than by trying to stumble through words they may be unable to read or fully understand, or by viewing graphic images or photos showing stationary rather than moving action.

Whether black and white, long or short, narrated or acted, a video or dvd can make company training more interesting and effective than ever before. The advent of multi-media tools like these can help to create a safer worksite.