Yes, they do. We hope you’ve enjoyed reading this blog entry. Seriously, forklift operators need training and it’s not just for them, it’s for everyone who has to work around them as well.
Remember when you learned how to drive a car? It seemed overwhelming at first, and a little intimidating, and it took you a few years before driving became second nature.
Now, imagine you’re about to drive a forklift. Forget what you know about driving a car because driving a forklift is very different.
For example, forklifts steer from the rear. They’re also built to carry large amounts of weight on the front end, changing their center of gravity by a different amount each load.
Those two facts alone mean driving a forklift is an acquired skill, making training for the safety of your operators and everyone who has to work around them an absolute necessity.
Then there’s the things you may not even think about, like daily checklists before the forklift springs into action.
OSHA requires forklift operators to gain certification through training programs provided by the operator’s employer, or someone the employer has hired to certify the operator. The full process can be completed in a single day.
There are some rules. Training must take place at your work-site, on your forklifts. It focuses on three areas- the equipment, the environment, and the product (the stuff your forklift will be moving.)
The last step in the certification process is a test, of sort, where the operator must be able to run the equipment safely and properly.
You should also know that once that initial training is over, that may not be the end. Periodic evaluations are required and if an operator fails one of those, retraining may be required. If there is an accident involving a forklift, or even a near miss- that puts your employee back into training. Get a new forklift that’s different from your old one? That’s a retraining. Move your business into a new building or remodel the old one? Retraining.
So yes, forklift operators need training. It’s absolutely critical that your forklift operators understand how to operate their equipment safely.
The good news is, we can help. Call us.