Forklift News - SAFETY FIRST: DAVID HOOVER

Is forklift certification too easy? Is the materials handling industry rife with poorly trained, under-qualified forklift operators? Contributing safety expert David Hoover asks the questions.

Since entering the industry in 1991, I have been very concerned about how seriously we take forklift certification.

Things worth achieving in life require work, patience, time and some level of competency. I watched a show not long ago about US Navy Seal training. It said about 75% of trainees could not complete the training due to its demanding requirements.

Other things, such as obtaining an airline pilot's licence or a commercial driver's licence, also require substantial work and knowledge, and not everyone can meet the requirements.

Even with recent updates to training requirements across the world, I still question whether those charged with training forklift operators really take the job as seriously as they should.

Periodically, I audit training programs and see people with little or no forklift experience completing programs and being turned loose to operate forklifts with no supervision. Often the driving test amounts to no more than moving some empty pallets around a parking lot or weaving through a course at a forklift dealership.

Most written tests consist of 15 or fewer questions that the average 10 year old could easily pass. Would we turn our children loose in an automobile with only an hour or two of practice, or allow someone to fly a plane by simply spending some time in a simulator?

End users must start putting tougher pass or fail criteria in place to weed out weak operators for more training before certification. When I conduct hands-on evaluations, I expect trainees to be able to handle substantially heavy loads and stack as high as they would be expected to in real life. Depending on the application, we might also require them to load a trailer, use attachments or negotiate a ramp. I always tell our trainers that, when in doubt, I would rather have them hold someone back than give them the stamp of approval.

Third-party trainers, such as consultants or forklift dealers, also have another pressure. Many end users expect that paying for a person to be trained ensures they will pass the course. We tell customers up front that some operators may not pass and will need additional supervised practice.

I was once told by a customer "everyone must pass your course" to which I replied "you may have hired the wrong company". They finally came around to our way of thinking, but it was not easy. Don't look for someone such as OSHA to come out with specific pass or fail criteria; it is our job as trainers to make those judgements.

There is no guarantee that even well-trained operators will not have accidents, but at least you can be comfortable knowing you did your part to ensure they were properly trained and qualified.

David Hoover is president of Forklift Training Systems Inc, a US safety company specialising in site and forklift safety training, training trainers, custom program development and cutting-edge forklift safety products. Contact David Hoover

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