Forklift News - David Hoover: Developing countries and forklift training

In my last column, I wrote an article on the importance of training qualified forklift trainers and received a response from an Australian trainer who has been assigned to work in a developing country and has responsibility for training operators and trainers there (Forkliftaction.com News #189). The names and places have purposely been left out, but his message will give us all an appreciation of the standards we have in our respective countries, however vague or ineffective we feel they might be.

He wrote:

I started working in the country in early 2004, before that I worked in Australia as a self-employed trainer/assessor working with forklifts and various earthmoving machines. I was not sure what to expect in a developing country on regulation of machinery operators. To say I was shocked to see five people on a forklift would be an understatement.  The local culture revolved around helping people and, in a country where the average summer temperature regularly exceeds 50 degrees Celsius (122 degrees Fahrenheit), this could easily be achieved by taking four of your friends on your forklift rather than letting them walk in the heat. The fact that the passengers obscured the driver’s vision, or that they distracted him as they chatted merrily in his ear, did not come into consideration. When I advised senior management against letting this practice continue, since it was clearly a safety issue, the employees argued that it was better to have people on the machine where you could see them rather than have them walk around the facility where they would be exposed to the risk of being hit by a forklift. Try to argue against that logic.

The practice of helping each other also occurred when assessments of competency were being conducted for forklift operators. There was no certificate or licence to drive any piece of machinery so the company introduced its own assessment process for all employees who operated forklifts within the facility. The problem was that no one ever failed an assessment and they were always deemed competent no matter what happened. Need some help with the written exam? No problem, just ask the assessor. Drop something off the pallet during the practical assessment? No problem, get the assessor to help you pick it up and repack the pallet.

If you thought that was bad, how about driving while under the influence of narcotics. The operators used a local drug, a stimulant with the same chemical compound found in amphetamines. Every day around midday a plane arrived and delivered a very anticipated shipment. The leaves of this plant were chewed and, after two to three hours of chewing, there was an amphetamine buzz, which made for some interesting times for forklift operations. People got in their way only at their own peril. We had zero tolerance at the company but, if caught in the act, operators just spat it out and denied using it.

I am currently trying to gradually introduce a process of train the trainer whereby I teach the assessors/trainers the importance of unbiased, impartial assessment. I used to complain about all the rules and regulations in Australia regarding training/assessing of forklift operators and all the related paperwork that went with the job. After seven months in this environment I will never complain again.

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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