A State of Oregon agency is planning a safety-oriented forklift competition in less than 11 weeks.

"The Columbia Forklift Challenge is the first-ever forklift skills and safety demo that we have hosted," says Craig Hamelund, education specialist with the Oregon occupational safety and health division.

The challenge will take place on 8 March in the Oregon Convention Center in Portland as part of a four-day Oregon governor's occupational safety and health conference.

"Any competent forklift operator certified by an employer is eligible" to compete for the USD500, USD350 and USD200 top individual prizes, Hamelund notes.

Teams consisting of three operators from the same company will vie for a USD450 prize. "The team scoring is an aggregate of individual runs," he says.

Competition organisers plan to have entrants utilise one of four sit-down counterbalance Hyster forklifts, each with lifting capacity of 5,000 lbs (2,250 kg).

The agency expects to post other Columbia Forklift Challenge details on its website as additional information becomes available.

The division, a unit of the Salem-based Oregon department of consumer and business services, operates under a state-plan agreement with the US Occupational Safety and Health Administration.