Forklift News - David Hoover: Believe it or not?

Recently I heard an amazing story. A small, private airline was training its pilots in some very unconventional ways. The airline was in competition with many others and every dollar was counted carefully. It was under tremendous pressure to satisfy hectic schedules. The director of training had been around for many years and under constant pressure from managers and company directors. He finally gave in and compromised on his long-held commitments to safe training.

The traditional route of training pilots had always been very formal, time consuming and costly. The training involved many months of classroom and hands-on work to obtain pilots who were capable and qualified to fly in their demanding application. The new training program consisted of a how to fly video, observing other pilots fly, a five-minute orientation to the flight controls and a brief takeoff and landing. As long as trainees completed this sequence they were given their wings and a permanent spot as a staff pilot at well below industry wages, for obvious reasons. The airline started to show some impressive profits as it was turning out pilots faster and cheaper than ever and its competitors were taking notice. Unbelievably the practice went undiscovered for a long time, until finally a serious incident occurred in which a new pilot crashed, killing himself and several people on the ground.

Take a minute and think about the story. Now substitute an industrial facility for the airline, a forklift operator for a pilot and a forklift for the plane. No the story is not true, and we would be appalled if it were, since most of us fly. But how scary is what many companies do with regard to training forklift operators? I have seen too many companies treat training forklift operators in this manner or, worse yet, provide no training at all. Forklifts, although heavy pieces of industrial equipment, have been long treated as something anybody who can walk can drive and that is not so. Like obtaining a pilot’s licence, learning to drive a forklift takes time, dedication and effort.

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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