Tom Reddon is a Forklift Specialist and Blog Manager for National Forklift Exchange. He also sits on the MHEDA Executive Dialogue team. Connect with him via Twitter at twitter.com/TomReddon.

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In virtually every industry, experience is a highly valued commodity. With experience, many ask if there is a need to continue training veteran operators. I know everything already, you might say. Complacency is a truly bad habit, especially as the materials handling and production business is an industry constantly evolving - both from a technical and operational perspective. Furthermore, there is no such thing as being too safe. Promoting safety awareness is essential and should not be restricted strictly to OSHA compliance. As technology progresses, so does the prospect of potential hazards and risks that uniquely threaten the safety and welfare of personnel.

Benefits of Safety Training
Safety training aids employees in evolving situational awareness skills and, in turn, decreases the likelihood of accidents. Continuing safety training equips employees to develop and evolve this capability and, in turn, can bolster productivity and efficiency. Fewer accidents means reductions in costs and, furthermore, allows employees to get the job done quicker because there is no need for incident response or, in many cases, a project that is prolonged due to short staffing. Striving to improve and foster retention also keeps forklift operators, in particular, ahead of the curve in the event of an emergency. Forklifts are complex and dangerous machines. Instituting and enforcing an action plan can protect all employees and workers from a myriad of potentially dangerous circumstances.


Always More to Learn
Driving retention and striving to keep operators and employees abreast of hazards that lurk on the warehouse floor or area of operations can reduce the likelihood of an accident. Effective safety leaders devise and institute recovery policies and procedures to respond to crises; but this is simply a last resort. Continuous safety improvement and training establishes a chain of command and offers incident management when adversity strikes.

Understanding the Forklift Operator's Role
In many materials handling capacities, the forklift operator is the one in charge. Therefore, it is important to ensure these employees are well-prepared to direct and guide the operation, promoting the best safety practices. When workers know how to work safely, it forges continuity. Continuity can lead to unique and efficient methods to complete a simple task, faster and better. Faster and better is the backbone of many lean manufacturing principles.
Finally, according to MHL magazine, the best forklift operators are committed to maintaining up-to-date knowledge of industry-leading safety practices. To complement this notion, it is recommended that forklift operators should maintain up-to-date certifications in various materials-handling capacities to further drive safe operations.

Advancements in Training and Technology
With the materials handling applications and operations evolving, the industry has been introduced to new devices that have been added in the last 10 to 15 years. The most prominent innovation is the electric forklift. The electric forklift requires an entirely different approach toward maintenance and is very different to operate from the traditional gas-fed forklifts. Retention and continuous training allows seasoned veterans trained on traditional forklifts to gain practical experience working with these vehicles. Thus, to keep skills sharp and to further develop the skill sets of the most experienced personnel, retention is a must in today's manufacturing environment.