60 Seconds with: James J. Radous III, UniCarriers Americas Corp.

Title: Chair, National Forklift Safety Day (NFSD); president, UniCarriers Americas Corp.
Location: Washington, D.C. – National Forklift Safety Day
Experience: Radous joined Nissan Forklift (now UniCarriers Americas) in 2009 as vice president of sales and marketing operations. He was appointed to the newly created role of executive vice president, sales, Americas in 2013. He has been president of UniCarriers since January 2016.
Experience: Radous joined Nissan Forklift (now UniCarriers Americas) in 2009 as vice president of sales and marketing operations. He was appointed to the newly created role of executive vice president, sales, Americas in 2013. He has been president of UniCarriers since January 2016.
Duties: As chair, he oversees the development of the agenda for National Forklift Safety Day. As chair, he oversees the development of the agenda for National Forklift Safety Day.

Transcript of Interview:

Modern: Jim, this was the third-annual National Forklift Safety Day. Let’s give readers who aren’t familiar with the event some info on how and why it got started?

Radous: The Industrial Truck Association, or ITA, has always devoted effort to encourage the safe operation of its products. Three years ago, the ITA decided that sponsoring a special day devoted to safety would be a way to get the word out. Part of the event is bringing together stakeholders from the industry, OSHA and the safety community in Washington, but we also want to encourage safety activities around the country. So, you’ll see local events hosted by dealers and association members. The event has grown not just through the number of participants, but also in terms of the exposure it gets. What’s more, leadership from OSHA and Congress have gotten to know us.

Modern: Talk a little more about who attends NFSD and any highlights from this year’s event.

Radous: At the local level, the focus is on operator training. For instance, we offered free training courses as did other OEMs at their events. In Washington, we pull together a mix of interests and viewpoints, ranging from industry members to legislative leaders and non-governmental safety experts. As chair of this year’s event, for instance, I emphasized how much good we can do to reduce injuries and save lives just by adhering to basic safety. Tim Walberg, the Michigan congressman who chairs the House Subcommittee on Workforce Protections, spoke about his reservations about a new reporting standard that could portray some companies in a negative light. Jordan Barab, deputy assistant secretary of labor for OSHA, discussed his support for the reporting requirements and his ongoing concerns about training temporary workers. Wes Scott, the consulting services director of the National Safety Council, spoke about the cost effectiveness of following safety procedures.

Modern: Safety is the watchword for the event. Are there any standards the industry is working on?

Radous: High on the ITA’s agenda right now is an update to OSHA’s Powered Industrial Truck regulation, which currently references the 1969 version of the B56.1 voluntary consensus for our products. That standard will undergo its 10th revision this year, to the 2016 version, which is the version that is actually used. We want to give the latest version recognition because it represents nearly 50 years of learning about safety.

Modern: When do you think is the most important thing to come out of the meetings in Washington?

Radous: I think the big message is that while we proclaim the second Tuesday in June to be National Forklift Safety Day, really every day needs to be devoted to safety. The real benefit comes from maintaining safe practices during every shift. As to the event, what we’re after is to increase awareness, and we believe that is happening. We’ve seen double or triple increases in our exposure. And, working with people on Capitol Hill, we not only get to interact with the legislators beyond your district, we’re able to reach people on subcommittees. You’d be surprised at the number of people on Capitol Hill who have a personal story about a job they once had driving a lift truck. Beyond that, we all know that forklifts play a major role in keeping our economy moving, the industry is actively pursuing a project that will definitively measure the impact of the forklift industry on the economy.

Modern: Similarly, is there one message you’d like to get across to readers?

Radous: Every day is forklift safety day—and safety training needs to be provided not just to forklift operators, but also to those who work around the machines.