The other day I was thinking about what my largest contribution to safety might be as a forklift trainer. Is it the quality I put into my training, the recommendation I might make to improve safety, or something else?
What I finally came up with shocked even me. I honestly think my largest contributions to safety are the times when I cannot certify a forklift operator for some reason.
From watching competitors, I know that many companies will certify operators for a price; some how, some way, they will issue them a piece of paper that states they are qualified.
While researching a competitor’s training years ago, I attended a class with a new employee who had never been behind the wheel of a forklift. The hands-on portion of the class consisted of weaving through some empty pallets stood up on end and then picking up an empty pallet and backing through the same course.
The course certainly could have been more realistic, but the real problem was that the operator did not have the basic skills to operate the forklift and needed some time to practice under supervision before being evaluated and certified. The first attempt was ugly, and most of the pallets were knocked over. At the end of the first run the trainer said a few words of encouragement, and then the operator ran the course again; the results were similar although somewhat improved.
The trainer issued the operator his certification, which shocked me. Right then and there I vowed never to certify someone, regardless of a score on a test, until I felt they were safe and comfortable enough to operate the forklift.
To this day, my company’s hands-on test sheets still carry that disclaimer, and I have had to invoke it more than a few times. I estimate that 5%-8% of the trainees we work with must be sent back for more supervised practice before we certify them on a forklift.
Trainers are always under pressure to pass their students, whether the trainers admit to it or not. With in-house trainers who test their friends and maybe even their boss, talk about pressure to pass! With outside trainers, such as contractors, there is pressure to pass operators since they are being paid to do so.
I was once told by a training coordinator, “You realize that everyone has to pass.” To that I said, “I think we need to talk with the safety manager before moving forward.” After explaining my concerns to the safety manager, he told me to disregard his coordinator’s comment and do what I felt was right with each person, and that we would deal with the results together.
Much like putting a teen in a car before they are ready to drive safely or certifying an airline pilot without proper training, certifying forklift operators who are not ready to deal with the coordination, pace and pressure of forklift operating tasks is a real hazard. Not everyone can be a forklift operator. Many people may not be good operators because of coordination issues, bad attitudes toward safety or other issues. By identifying these employees and getting them the additional training they need before certifying them — or not certifying them at all — we keep the workplace safer for everyone.
(David Hoover is president of Forklift Training Systems. For more information on this or other topics related to forklift training, safety or products, contact David at (740) 763-4978 or e-mail dhoover@forklifttrainingsystem.com. David welcomes questions.)
