In material handling operations, the difference between a strong forklift safety record and a struggling one usually comes down to one thing: whether the operators are complying or committed.

Compliance means people follow the rules because they have to. They wear the safety glasses when the supervisor walks by. Commitment is different. 

Commitment means operators work safely because they believe in it. They take ownership of their own safety and the safety of every pedestrian, co-worker, and piece of equipment sharing the floor.

Compliance can be enforced. Commitment has to be built. 

And on a busy warehouse floor, where forklifts, pedestrians, product, and racking all share the same space, commitment is what keeps people safe when no one is watching.

Building that level of commitment starts with leadership and culture. 

Mature leaders understand that forklift safety is not a program that runs alongside the operation. Research from Dr E Scott Geller, alumni distinguished professor at Virginia Tech and a longtime researcher in behaviour-based safety, outlines five factors that consistently drive that commitment.

Confidence in training and skill

Forklift operators must be trained to a level where they can perform their work safely and know they can perform it safely.

Too many organisations take an engineering approach to operator training. They put someone through a program, document that it happened, and move on. The priority becomes proving training occurred rather than producing a confident operator. That is the wrong measure.

Operators need to demonstrate that they can do the work confidently before they are exposed to real operating conditions.

• Self-esteem and a sense of value - People work more safely when they feel good about what they are doing and understand that their contribution matters. This is not about motivational posters. It is about employees knowing their role has value to the business and being told so consistently. This is reinforced through ongoing communication, not annual reviews. The point is to build people up, not to wait until a yearly meeting to tell them where they stand.
• Optimism about the future - A workforce that sees a future with the organisation is more engaged in the present. Optimism is built the same way self-esteem is built; through consistent dialogue, clear expectations, and feedback that helps people understand their path.
• Inclusion and a friend in the workplace - Safety improves when employees are part of the process and part of the team. That means asking for input on how work gets done, listening when operators raise concerns, and including the workforce in identifying hazards in their own environments. When people are involved in the conversation, they move from compliance to ownership. Everyone should have a friend on the floor, someone they can talk to, someone who looks out for them. A right-to-refuse-work policy needs to back this up, and it needs teeth. If the policy exists on paper but is not honoured in practice, employees will not use it.
• Autonomy within clear structure - Operators need to follow policy and procedure. Within that structure, they also need some choice in how they go about their work. The balance is giving people the latitude to make reasonable decisions about how they complete tasks while still operating within defined safety standards.

Where leadership comes In

These five factors only translate into safer operations if leadership reinforces them every day on the floor.

I remember being a young production supervisor and walking onto the shop floor to find one of my team members without his safety glasses on. By the time I turned to look at him, he had them on. He knew he was supposed to wear them. That is compliance. And it is not enough.

Getting there requires observation and feedback as a regular part of how supervisors operate.

It also requires measurement that reflects both outcomes and behaviours. 

Behavioural indicators tell you how the work is being performed right now: PPE usage, adherence to procedures, safety observations, and safety work orders completed. And if your behavioural indicators are improving but injuries are not, you have chosen the wrong indicators.

None of this works without leadership accountability. 

Leaders have to hold themselves responsible for the success of the safety program the same way they hold themselves responsible for any other measure of how the organisation performs. 

When they do, the workforce follows. Training improves, hazard recognition becomes habit, operators speak up, and incidents go down.