Danny Maron, owner/trainer of Ideal Forklift Training in Canada's national capital, is an independent consultant, providing the education lift truck operators require, to businesses and government, to minimise the chance of incidents in the workplace. Before founding Ideal in 2000, Danny was a trainer at Canada's largest forklift dealer.

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Many individuals are killed each year around this globe due to forklift tipovers, as well as several other factors. Statistics show that forklift tipovers are the leading cause of forklift incidents and deaths.

That is scary, and should be unwarranted. I find no reason whatsoever why an operator should tip over the forklift they are operating.

Speed is commonly the reason for side-to-side tipovers, and doing four things incorrectly all simultaneously will lead to back to front tipovers. Depending on the class of forklift, one type or another is more frequent.

Without going into detail, as I am not training anyone at this given moment, the four items that will affect the centre of gravity inside the stability triangle are: movement, weight (load), height and tilt. These four elements are vital to minimise or prevent forklift tipovers. If you are a bit familiar with the dynamics of a lift truck, this may sound like gibberish, but it is the difference between life and death.

This stability triangle is so vital that, a few years back, someone posted on this very site asking trainers what three items would be foremost in importance for operator safety if we published our own manuals, and the only common element in all the responses was the stability triangle.

If your current trainer is not spending at least 45 minutes of the training day relating the information properly, down to the lowest common denominator, so everyone can comprehend this information, get yourself another trainer. If your trainer is relying on films to get this vital information into the heads of your staff, and most films do a very, very short segment on this life-and-death topic, get yourself another trainer. Better yet, get yourself an educator who is a forklift training specialist, who is creative and in-depth to get this message across. This information must flow through the bloodstream of each and every operator to avoid tipover situations that can lead to death.

You, as a manager or safety officer, procuring your staff's forklift education, may not be hurt or killed in a tipover situation, but your staff can be - so check out your current trainer's credentials and program, because you may be awfully surprised as to what is not being taught and explained.

Ignorance is bliss. Not knowing something is often more comfortable than knowing it.