Alberta presses for safer forklift practices

News Story
- 4 Aug 2011 ( #525 ) - Edmonton, AB, Canada
2 min read
The Province of Alberta's recent focused occupational health and safety (OHS) inspections of forklift operations show a need to increase compliance with existing laws, the employment and immigration ministry says.

At the same time, the ministry believes awareness of the inspection blitz has moved things in the right direction and says reports from forklift trainers indicate a substantial increase in demand for operator training since the province announced the campaign in February.

Gil McGowan, president of the Alberta Federation of Labour (AFL), was critical of Employment and Immigration Minister Thomas Lukaszuk's forklift-safety effort as insufficient (Forkliftaction.com News #513). The campaign from 22 February to 18 March involved 87 employers and 181 inspections and resulted in 214 corrective orders relating to forklifts and other powered mobile equipment.

On 4 May, the AFL's McGowan may have been wrong in suggesting Alberta institute a mandatory system for training and certification of forklift operators.

In responding to McGowan's comments, the ministry notes that forklift operators already must undergo mandatory training under Alberta OHS legislation such as section 15 of the OHS regulation and section 256 of the OHS code.

While forklift trainers routinely issue certificates to operators who have successfully completed training programs, the government has no current plans to make it mandatory for a forklift operator to personally carry his or her certificate, according to Sorcha Thomas in the communications office of the ministry in Edmonton. "Rather than asking to see training certificates, our OHS officers use observations of forklift operations to assess whether workers are competent to operate the equipment safely as required under section 13 of the OHS regulation."

A worker may achieve the competency through in-house training courses. An employer is responsible to ensure that workers are properly trained in the safe operation of the equipment in workplaces.

Throughout the campaign, employers told OHS inspectors that they needed a clearer understanding of what is expected of them.

Of the 214 orders, 24 were related to requirements for proper inspection and maintenance, 20 for failure to conduct a visual inspection prior to operating the equipment, 16 for hazard assessment requirements and 14 for inadequate worker training, competency and proper supervision to safely operate the equipment.

To support employers, the government of Alberta developed a 48-page Forklift Health and Safety Best Practices Guideline that was completed in December.

"We will continue to enforce the OHS legislation, distribute the best practices guideline and monitor the situation," Thomas says.

In other focused campaigns, OHS inspectors recently issued 181 orders on 118 work places employing 15-24-year-old workers and will blitz employers in residential construction soon.
Briefs
Briefs 3 Jul 2025 - 1 min read
AITT issues reminder on need for certified training
AITT issues reminder on need for certified training 26 Jun 2025 - Hugglescote, United Kingdom - 1 min read
Previously about:
Forklifts among targets for 2011 safety inspections News Story - 23 Dec 2010 - Edmonton, AB, Canada - 1 min read
Do you have materials handling news? Submit your news here

PREMIUM business

Combilift Ltd
Manufactures world class 4-way Handling Solutions

It’s the year 2000. You’re in front of a boxy beige desktop waiting for the screeching ramblings of your dial-up to reach its finale. You go to Yahoo!, MSN, or maybe AOL, and start the mind-numbing process of finding your very specific needle in the digital haystack. And with web pages loading one image at a time, patience isn’t just a virtue – it’s a requirement!

As clumsy as this early iteration seems now, this technology was the great enabler that allowed Forkliftaction to connect to the industry across the globe.  

To everyone who has connected with Forkliftaction in the past 25 years, thank you for your contribution to our success! We feel deeply touched by your words of encouragement.

What has Forkliftaction meant to you? Drop us a line.

Words of support …

After advertising with Forkliftaction.com, we got many enquiries regarding interest to be our distributor. Mostly from Europe and USA but including a few in ASEAN. We feel that the advertisement was useful and good for market expansion.

Lawrence Xu, Assistant Sales Manager

Are you recruiting? Find your ideal candidate among a diverse range of materials handling professionals:

Forkliftaction's JOB MARKET

It’s the year 2000. You’re in front of a boxy beige desktop waiting for the screeching ramblings of your dial-up to reach its finale. You go to Yahoo!, MSN, or maybe AOL, and start the mind-numbing process of finding your very specific needle in the digital haystack. And with web pages loading one image at a time, patience isn’t just a virtue – it’s a requirement!

As clumsy as this early iteration seems now, this technology was the great enabler that allowed Forkliftaction to connect to the industry across the globe.  

To everyone who has connected with Forkliftaction in the past 25 years, thank you for your contribution to our success! We feel deeply touched by your words of encouragement.

What has Forkliftaction meant to you? Drop us a line.

PREMIUM business

Noblelift
Global leader and manufacturer of high quality electric, lithium-ion, and IC material handling equipment.

Are you recruiting? Find your ideal candidate among a diverse range of materials handling professionals:

Forkliftaction's JOB MARKET

PREMIUM business

VETTER Industrie GmbH
The world's most comprehensive range of forks and the most intelligent sensor fork for more safety and efficiency.

Are you recruiting? Find your ideal candidate among a diverse range of materials handling professionals:

Forkliftaction's JOB MARKET

Since July 2000, Forkliftaction News has been your guide to the developments that are shaping your industry.

Starting today we are also looking back on some of the key news stories from our extensive news archive.

In the news email and on the website, you'll see links to stories that were 'leading our news' multiple years ago, with topics spanning world-first products, big acquisitions, and major industry shifts.
We hope you enjoy this unique insight into the materials handling industry!