Thanks, arnoldbrame. I too believe that trainee practice is important.

My American football coaches were consistent in saying that "The game is won in the practice!" (We won a lot, so I always liked the idea!) I believe "practice" has validity for a lot more than sport.

For forklift operator training, if I had to choose between the TRAINER being acquainted with all basics/techniques OR having the operator practice basics of safe operation, I would ALWAYS choose that the operator practice...repetitiously...with feedback about how well or poorly they are doing. This would require first that there is some written standard so the operator knows exactly what to practice.

Unfortunately, IMHO there are a lot of operators doing a lot of practicing, but without the benefit of ANY trainer-administered techniques, NO objective standards of working safely, and absent any feedback other than the self-talk that keeps repeating, "whew, I didn't get hurt that time!"

Best wishes,

Joe Monaco