Forklift News - Video game to boost forklift safety

The interactive console

Employers can now use video game technology to boost workplace safety thanks to the launch of a new forklift training simulator.

The National Safety Council collaborated with Etcetera Edutainment to develop a 3D video game that is designed to boost forklift safety. The NSC Safetyworks Lift Truck PC game is suitable for new or experienced forklift operators and allows them to drive in a virtual warehouse environment.

Jessica Trybus, CEO and president of Etcetera Edutainment, says the "game" for the NSC is the first in a series of industrial safety products to use video game technology. "It is designed to increase retention of safety concepts and decrease risk of accidents."

Etcetera has found game-based training helps trainees retain more information through the simulated real-life environment and provides instant feedback to help the trainee improve.

The game features interactive lessons on forklift selection and inspection, basic safety, traffic rules, pedestrians, moving loads, bridgeplates and ramps, and non-standard loads. With each lesson, trainees immediately apply what they have learned as they "virtually" undertake everyday tasks and respond to obstacles and conditions.

The NSC says the Safetyworks Lift Truck gives forklift operators hands-on experience through a series of lessons delivered in a simulated industrial park.
"It's truly interactive - forced reaction, decision-making and ongoing real-time

feedback for trainees - giving a real experience with critical operating techniques," says an NSC statement. "Operators learn new skills, correct bad habits and practise challenging operations they may not see on an everyday basis. They also encounter fluid spills, ramps, elevators and rail tracks.

Individual trainees' progress test scores are tracked and stored in a personal profile, and they earn a grade evaluating their performance."

The game covers forklift classifications: D, G, E, LP, DY, EE, EX matching OSHA 1910.178 and can accommodate up to 20 operators.

Jamie Carnevale Mackay, environmental health and safety manager for Alcoa, and his team tested the Beta version of the game and he looks forward to playing the final product. "The software allows trainees to learn, practice, and test their forklift safety knowledge, proving competence in safety principles before going back out on the loading dock floor.

"I think the program is engaging, easy to use and is divided into manageable lessons."

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