From left: Brian Feehan, Everett Eissenstat, Brian Butler and Douglas Kalinowski share the safety message.

A trade association for forklift manufacturers and their component suppliers underscored the safe use of their equipment and the importance of operator training during National Forklift Safety Day in Washington.

The activities provided an opportunity for the industry to educate customers, policymakers and the administration on forklift operating safety practices and, separately, for Industrial Truck Association (ITA) members to have personal visits with more than 35 members in the US Senate and US House of Representatives.

"Many ITA members and non-members embraced the launch of this event in many ways," says Brian Feehan, president of the Washington-based ITA. Members in multiple locations throughout the US conducted operator training workshops, hosted open houses, distributed company press releases stating their support for this effort and conducted interviews with trade publications.

Douglas J Kalinowski, director of the directorate of cooperative and state programs for the US Occupational Health & Safety Administration (OSHA), spoke at the event to raise awareness for the continued need for operator training. OSHA enforces regulations regarding the manufacture and operation of industrial trucks.

ITA chairman Brian Butler was another key presenter during the 10 June event in the Hyatt Regency Washington on Capitol Hill hotel. Butler is president and chief executive officer of Linde Material Handling North America Corp in Summerville, South Carolina.

One strategic component of National Forklift Safety Day "was to generate media coverage supporting our objective to raise awareness for continued operator training", says Feehan, another presenter. As of 30 June, ITA counts approximately 135 media channels - including Forkliftaction.com News - as having mentioned National Forklift Safety Day in online and print editions.

"A secondary objective of this event was to educate policymakers on the ITA's position on free and fair trade policies being debated in Congress," Feehan notes. Attendees heard from Everett H Eissenstat, chief international trade counsel to the ranking member of the US Senate finance committee, on how these policies could impact US trade.

Through visits to the Senate and House office buildings, the ITA members' congressional meetings demonstrated "our industry's support for Trade Promotion Authority, Transatlantic Trade & Investment Partnership and Trans Pacific Partnership trade policies", Feehan notes. ITA members scheduled meetings with their own elected members of congress.

"These meetings also served as the foundation for building a relationship with our elected officials and have already resulted in the exchange of information regarding certain tariff rates as well as scheduling factory tours for congressional representatives," Feehan reports.