Rob Vetter addresses an interesting topic in his Safety First column this week: experience does not equal competence. It's unfortunate that anyone who can drive a vehicle feels somehow qualified to operate a forklift. Give them a few minutes behind the wheel and a basic understanding of how to raise and lower the forks, and they feel fully equipped to operate the equipment.
Worse still, some employers are happy to put staff behind the controls with just superficial experience and entrust their safety and those of all in the business to scant training and preparation.
Vetter takes this a step further by discussing the challenges of training people who think they know how to do it - a balancing act between respecting their skills and teaching them what they need to know.
It's food for thought.