June 14 marked National Forklift Safety Day and we’re finishing our June 2017 with one more look at a very important forklift safety factor. The driver.
More specifically, new drivers, and what you should look for in a new forklift driver.
It stands to reason that not everyone who might apply to be a forklift driver will have actual forklift operating experience, or you may have someone on your staff who expresses an interest in becoming a forklift driver.
We’ve covered the process of becoming a certified operator at great length in this blog and anyone who is not a certified operator will need to go through the same process- but what should you look for before you even start that process?
Let’s assume your prospect has no forklift experience. That’s not a deal-breaker, but he/she should have at least a couple of the following traits:
- Warehouse Experience: Your candidate should know his way around a warehouse, know what to expect and how to conduct himself around others, around the materials and around the potential hazards.
- Detail-oriented: Forklift drivers need to be able to concentrate on several things at the same time. From the pre and post-shift inspections to the process and steps necessary to move materials around the warehouse there are plenty of little details to remember. This is something you can’t teach. Either your prospective operator has it, or they don’t.
- Commercial driver’s license/experience: Details and safety are foremost in the minds of almost all commercial truck operators. Truck drivers make terrific forklift operators.
- (Do we have to mention) a track record of high safety standards.
Hiring a new forklift operator will be one of the most important decisions you make as a manager, on a lot of different levels. Use these points to make your initial determination and you’re sure to make a solid, safe, forklift operator.
Questions? Give us a call, drop us an email!