Lift Truck Tips: Operator training keeps small errors from piling up

Operator training programs often give the impression of being effective. It is only when something goes wrong that the shortcomings of the program become apparent. But it does not have to be difficult to quantify an operator’s preparedness, safety habits and productivity.

Wayne Wilde, field technical sales officer for UniCarriers, says the first step is to establish policies for the use of equipment and the handling of loads. For instance, what are the policies for handling liquid versus solid loads, or the outdoor use of electric lift trucks?

“If a manager says someone is breaking the rules, he ought to be able to point to the rule in question,” says Wilde. “Often I ask about policies for materials handling and forklift operation and I get a ‘deer in the headlights’ look.”

When developing policies, fleet owners don’t have to reinvent the wheel. The Industrial Truck Standards Development Foundation (ITSDF) standard B56 is a free download and contains a user section that outlines correct operating practices. This can serve as useful supplement to a training program.

Damage to property and product is a clear warning sign that operator training is lacking. “If they aren’t tracking that revenue loss, they should be,” Wilde says. “As business has picked up, the No. 1 concern is getting product out the door, and some of these losses are seen as simply a cost of doing business. But they are easily preventable and trackable.”

To create a culture of accountability, near-misses should also be tracked by operators and nearby pedestrians. “Those complaints must be collected, documented and acted upon because that can be a huge liability,” says Wilde.

Bad habits can quickly emerge around things as routine as a battery change. Productivity will suffer if an operator runs a battery to empty in the middle of a shift, and the same goes for failure to change an LP tank on an internal combustion lift truck. “This goes back to training and what they’re supposed to be looking for before that happens,” Wilde says.

For those who train to a kit or something they found online, it is critical to be sure that a practical component is part of any training program. There are no shortcuts that can replace real-world training on the lift truck, says Wilde. It is also important to standardize the training agenda so that all trainers and operators are on the same page. “OSHA will ask about this,” Wilde says. “Lots of people have a training book on the shelf, but the trainers are not sure where that book is.”

With policies and a standard agenda in place, an organization should then review the program on a regular basis. “After a year of developing this, you should check to make sure it’s working,” says Wilde, who recommends customers use up-to-date resources from the lift truck manufacturer and give employees and managers input into training and policy development. “Nobody but the owner of the forklift is responsible for approving an operator.”

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