Rob Vetter: Mythbusting in the forklift world
Training requirements, certification, licences and qualifications: Rob Vetter sorts the wheat from the chaff.

13 Dec 2017

Rob Vetter: No excuses
For trainer Rob Vetter, safety is not an option, it’s an imperative.

6 Sep 2017

Rob Vetter: Speed and efficiency - mutually exclusive terms
Veteran trainer Rob Vetter gives his view on the fast and furious approaches to forklift driving.

1 Feb 2017

Rob Vetter: Lock ‘em up!
Rob Vetter recently helped deliver a series of training sessions on forklifts for California OSHA enforcement and consultation personnel. The timing was interesting ...

21 Dec 2016

Rob Vetter: Mandatory means mandatory
Following regulations to the letter is the only option, according to Rob Vetter.

28 Sep 2016

Rob Vetter: Grace under pressure
Rob Vetter salutes those involved in forklift rodeos.

5 Jul 2016

Rob Vetter: If it isn’t written down…
Without proper documentation, the value of training is undermined, according to Rob Vetter.

26 Apr 2016

Rob Vetter: Trouble in Paradise
Rob Vetter ponders the motivations behind safety.

19 Jan 2016

Rob Vetter: A brief introduction to telehandlers
Rob Vetter > turns his attention to equipment this time, with a look at a unique class of equipment.

30 Nov 2015

Rob Vetter: Lifting people and expectations
When it comes to using equipment to lift people, Rob Vetter has some strong notions.

27 May 2015

Rob Vetter: Forklift operator training - think local
Forget about the general, says Rob Vetter, and focus on specifics when it comes to training.

5 Jan 2015

Rob Vetter: No Weak Links
It’s all very well to train the operators, but Rob Vetter asks: what about the supervisors?

13 Oct 2014

Rob Vetter: Are your forklift operators fully trained?
Rob Vetter looks at some issues associated with working off the ground.

29 Jul 2014

Rob Vetter: Train Your Forklift Operators
Rob Vetter writes an open letter to employers.

5 May 2014

Rob Vetter: Is practical training practicable?
Practical training is not an optional extra, nor can it done while it is being assessed, argues Rob Vetter.

4 Feb 2014

Rob Vetter: Assume nothing
Not all training starts with a clean slate, and sometimes you have to deal with people who already have some experience. Rob Vetter looks at the challenges.

17 Sep 2013

Rob Vetter: Medical Fitness is not something you can (or should) evaluate
Are trainers in a position to check the state of fitness of their trainees? Certainly not, according to Rob Vetter.

23 Jul 2013

Rob Vetter: The Big Three of operator training
Rob Vetter ponders the three key questions: what, how and why.

15 Mar 2013

Rob Vetter: Investment, Risk and Reward
Rob Vetter argues that we shouldn’t gamble on safety.

25 Oct 2012

Rob Vetter: It's not over until it's over
The obligation doesn't stop when the trainer leaves the building. Rob Vetter believes owners and managers need to continue to promote a safety culture at work .

23 Apr 2012

Rob Vetter: Will the real reasons for safe forklift operation please stand up?
While employers may be motivated by savings or compliance, Rob Vetter believes it has to be personal if you want to engage operators.

15 Nov 2011

Rob Vetter: To Lift or Not to Lift
When should forklifts be used to lift people? According to Rob Vetter, never!

18 May 2011

Rob Vetter: Knowledge and Skill: The Yin and Yang of Operator Training
Operator training isn't a matter of theory or practice. Rob Vetter believes both are equally important.

1 Mar 2011

Rob Vetter: What goes down must come up – or must it?
With cost-cutting still on the agenda, Rob Vetter hopes that managers don't target training as a potential area for savings. He warns that we shouldn't be lulled by the drop in workplace accidents either.

30 Nov 2010

Rob Vetter: Training is a job for trainers
Choosing a trainer is one of the most important decisions of any fleet operator and one, according to Rob Vetter, that should take a number of skills into account.

15 Jul 2010

Rob Vetter: A brave new decade
As 2010 unfolds, Rob Vetter warns that the only certainty is change. Forklift users need to prepare for the unexpected ...

31 Mar 2010

Rob Vetter: A (Trainer’s) Christmas Story
When Christmas approaches, Rob Vetter is haunted by the ghost of Christmas Past and remembers a very valuable lesson. He shares it here ...

20 Dec 2009

Rob Vetter: Incorporated by Reference - What’s That?
Employers are responsible for a number of actions and conditions that aren't specifically spelled out in regulations, and Rob Vetter warns that you'd better find out about them!

9 Oct 2009

Rob Vetter: The Needs of the Many and the One
Training must be tailored to specific equipment and enviroments, butwaht about to oprators? Rob Vetter has strong thoughts about that.

12 Aug 2009

Rob Vetter: Computer-Based Training – Good Supplement, Bad Substitute
What role do computers play in training? Rob Vetter believes they can augment face-to-face instruction, but not replace it.

24 Jun 2009

Rob Vetter: Stay the course
Don't be tempted to cut training costs as the slowdown bites. Such a move may end up costing much more over time than it saves in the short tem.

12 Mar 2009

Rob Vetter: Evaluating medical fitness
Operators are required to meet certain physical requirements, but you can't expect your trainer to make fitness determinations.

15 Dec 2008

Rob Vetter: If It Isn’t Written Down…
It's not enough to do the right thing when it comes to training. You actually need to document what you do so you can prove it.

8 Oct 2008

Rob Vetter: Do the Right Thing
Faced with the tough decision of failing a trainee or being a 'good guy', trainers have an obligation to follow their head rather than their heart.

2 Sep 2008

Rob Vetter: Training Is An Art – Not Science
Experience counts and no matter how good the theory, without some hands-on experience, forklift training is questionable.

13 May 2008

Rob Vetter: Breaking the Dysfunctional Training Cycle
Operator training is not a one-off. It requires ongoing - and multi-disciplanary - commitment and broad-reaching responsibility.

27 Mar 2008

Rob Vetter: It Don’t Mean a Thing If It Ain’t Got That Tailswing
I have been asked too many times to return to a site after training has occurred, only to find that the forklift operations do not resemble anything that would suggest the operators have been properly trained.

23 Jan 2008

Rob Vetter: Climate change – but this one is good
I get reflective at this time of year as the sun sets on the waning days of the past year and dawns on the hopes and anticipations of the future. I like to look at what I did well and not so well to see if I can replicate the good stuff and eliminate or improve on the bad. It appears business and industry have been doing this as well because things seem to be getting better on the safety front.

6 Dec 2007

Rob Vetter: Is the Right-of-Way Wrong?
Most people can relate to both sides of the right-or-way argument - but not when they're behind the wheel or walking around!

10 Oct 2007

Rob Vetter: Safety or Compliance: If You Have To Choose…
Regardless of what the ‘regs’ say or do not say, whatever it is you are doing, you must do it as safely as possible.

15 Aug 2007

Rob Vetter: It’s all good
If you have trained a forklift operator or two in your time you can probably relate to the experience of seeing the emotional state of some trainees when they show up for training sessions. Often displaying signs ranging from utter apathy to immobilising fear, their state is usually due to the fact that they have been sent, usually against their will ...

10 May 2007

Rob Vetter: One good apple
You have probably heard the proverb ‘one bad apple can spoil the barrel"’ but have you seen the effect one good apple can have on the others? “Apples” are a metaphor for forklift operators and the “good” ones are those operators who take the time do their jobs safely and in accordance with their training.

15 Mar 2007

Rob Vetter: Computer-based Training; a Contradiction in Terms
Computer based training (CBT) programs, in spite of their often flashy graphics and cool soundtracks, cannot even begin to determine operational competence and I think everyone knows that including the producers of such programs.

18 Jan 2007

Rob Vetter: ‘Tis the Season
Back in 1981 when I was an impressionable young man of 19, I lost a very near and dear friend to an industrial accident. He was electrocuted when he contacted live power lines while painting a building.

14 Dec 2006

Rob Vetter: Seek first to understand…then kick some butt
In these days of extreme political correctness, it is hard for trainers to define where the line is drawn between accommodating and offending. I recall a wonderful train-the-trainer program I was delivering in Kansas City, Missouri, and completely ruining it by letting slip a reference to the place of fire and brimstone where the Prince of Darkness dwells.

16 Nov 2006

Rob Vetter: Somebody restrain me
If I hear one more person squawk about use of seatbelts by forklift operators I’m going to scream. It has been more than 20 years since major manufacturers began outfitting units with seatbelts and more than 10 since the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) made it standard for manufacturers to supply them and users to use them.

12 Oct 2006

Rob Vetter: Training is not just for operators
A colleague read an article in the Seattle Times that described the high turnover rate among forklift operator jobs as being “…characteristic of jobs requiring little or no prior or formal training”. This assertion is wrong.

14 Sep 2006

Rob Vetter: Site and equipment training must be specific
Training delivered on any equipment other than that which the operator is assigned to use is not acceptable. Any performance evaluation performed outside the operator’s workplace is not acceptable. Those kinds of operator training are non-compliant and therefore unacceptable.

17 Aug 2006

Rob Vetter: The evaluation process
Your training efforts will eventually lead to an evaluation in which trainees demonstrate their knowledge and/or skills. However, a successful evaluation does not necessarily mean no further training is required.

20 Jul 2006

Rob Vetter: Are they getting it?
As a trainer, you must take deliberate, calculated steps in the classroom and in the field to evaluate your trainees’ level of understanding.

22 Jun 2006

Rob Vetter: Why train?
Forkliftaction.com News is pleased to have Rob Vetter join us as a Safety First contributor. He has more than 20 years' experience in mobile equipment training systems and is currently the technical director of Ives Training Group in Blaine, Washington, USA. In his inaugural column, Rob brings us back to to basics by giving succinct answers to the question: "Why train?" If you are interested in writing for Forkliftaction.com News, please email news@forkliftaction.com

18 May 2006