The challenge included simulating the loading and unloading of a trailer. Simon Larkin of Ives Training Group, a primary judge, observes.

Andy Ibbotson of Americold Cascade Cold Inc in Lynden, Washington won USD500 for his first place finish in the second biennial Columbia Forklift Challenge.

The courses tested operator skills and abilities on runs with obstacles, precision pallet loading and unloading, a bowling alley and tennis ball-mounted stanchions. Scoring was based on skill, time and safety factors.

Mike Morrison won USD300 for second place. He is with Cascade Steel Rolling Mills Inc of McMinnville, Oregon, a subsidiary of Schnitzer Steel Industries Inc.

Cory Jenks took third place winning USD200. He is with Nacco Materials Handling Group Inc of Fairview, Oregon, a subsidiary of Hyster-Yale Materials Handling Inc.

Ibbotson with Americold operators Neil Caylor and Randy Langwell captured the team competition and a prize of USD450. Judges aggregated scores of the individual drivers to determine the team result.

"We more than doubled our entry field from 2011," says Craig Hamelund, education specialist with the Oregon occupational safety and health division. "We had 46 registered for last week's event." Twenty entrants participated during the state's inaugural forklift challenge in March 2011.

Entrants in the 2013 event represented 14 companies. In addition to businesses with award winners, the other companies were Boeing Co, National Frozen Foods Corp, Roseburg Forest Products, Hoffman Corp, Hoffman Structures Inc, Xerox Corp, Georgia Pacific LLC, TOK America Inc, CertainTeed Corp, Boise Packaging & Newsprint and Portland Bottling Co.

Sponsors for the 2013 challenge included Ives Training and Compliance Group Inc of Blaine, Washington; Boeing operations in Portland and Seattle; Cascade Corp of Fairview, Oregon; Overton Safety Training Inc of Aloha, Oregon; Papé Material Handling of Tigard, Oregon; Norlift of Oregon Inc of Portland; NorthWest Handling Systems Inc of Portland; Selectemp Employment Services of Springfield, Oregon; City of Portland water bureau; and Online Learning Enterprises Inc of London, Ontario, Canada.

The challenge took place 5 March at the Oregon Convention Center in Portland in conjunction with the Oregon governor's biennial occupational safety and health conference. The next Columbia Forklift Challenge is scheduled to occur in early March 2015.

The OSH division is part of the Oregon department of consumer and business services and operates under a state-plan agreement with the US Occupational Safety and Health Administration.