Rob Vetter is technical director and managing partner with the Ives Training Group, in Blaine, WA, USA, a leader in North American mobile equipment training systems since 1981.
Before I get started, Happy New Year!
Despite any possible confusion created by the poor Duke Ellington reference in the title (sorry about that), this first article of '08 addresses the importance of a forklift operator's ability to continually demonstrate safe operation during and after their initial training program.
The reason I believe that this is a topic worthy of discussion is because 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 or, and this is vital, thoroughly evaluated.
The importance of a comprehensive evaluation of an operator's skills following theory and practical training cannot be over-emphasised. I am often amazed to find during discussions with trainers how little time was spent evaluating operators in the field compared to the amount of time spent in the classroom.
Granted, there are many reasons for an operator's safety habits to regress following initial training. These reasons often relate to little or no enforcement of safety practices after the fact, high production expectations taking precedence over safe operations, little or no communication with line supervisors as to what they need to know in order to effectively monitor operations, and on it goes. However, in my experience it appears to be increasingly obvious that operators are simply not being properly evaluated before being qualified for general service.
So ask yourself and/or your trainer(s): are operator trainees given ample time and opportunity to adequately practise and hone their operational skills during a significant hands-on training period before they are evaluated? Transversely, are trainers given the same ample opportunity to effectively train and evaluate the skills demonstrated? Are the tasks issued during training and evaluations indicative of those encountered on the job? Are specific workplace- and/or equipment-related topics addressed AND evaluated?
If you answered 'no' to any of the questions above, I would advise that you review and alter how your forklift operator training programs are delivered because training must not only offer understanding of operational theory but affect behavior and the ability to demonstrate proficiency in practical application. When it comes to the knowledge and skill of forklift operators, I'll take skill every time.
To take a page out of the Duke's book: operators that cannot demonstrate the necessary skills and those who evaluate them ... won't get around much anymore.