Driving a forklift is nowhere close to driving a regular vehicle as many assume. There are certain functions it has that the latter doesn’t, and of course, vice versa. But more than its buttons and switches, the more crucial factor is learning how to drive it securely.
If your business is growing and the need for large-capacity hauling and transport is becoming more of a need by the minute, then you’re going to want your employees to be trained in forklift driving. And because you’re looking to train them in operating it properly, here are tips you can try here and now for forklift driving safety.
Tips In Looking For The Right Forklift Trainer
Course Alignment
Know what you need a forklift for? What will its purpose be? What goods or commodities are needed to be transported and how often will this occur during your business hours within a day? How about a week?
Answering these question, along with others you can think of that are similar to these, you can choose between signing a training contract with a licensed forklift training agency. Such groups have already had their hand in this practice because licensing requires both training AND experience. Thus, if you have a large workforce, here’s something to consider.
Secondly, you can hire a speaker who’ll conduct a seminar about forklift utilization. Doing so will be relatively less expensive than choosing the first. Hence, if you have a small to medium-sized company with only a few workers who will be operating the forklift, this is a good option, too.
Experience And Licensing
Now, it’s time to get into the details. Obtaining a certificate in forklift training is, unfortunately, not that difficult. In fact, as preposterous as it sounds, there are online courses that promise one that he or she will get the training skills needed within only a few hours.
Therefore, ask about how the agency or the individual trainer received training. If they give you the “who” and “when” and “how” of the affiliate company they’ve trained under and gained their licenses. Directly ask them when they started handling forklift training session, how many clients have gone under their wing, etc.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration or OSHA doesn’t exactly have clear-cut requirements regarding the necessary documents and licensing certificates a forklift trainer should have to determine their level of expertise. That is, other than the main document of attestation that they’ve gone through a training program.
So it’ll have to be up to you to ensure that you research about the training group or individual you’ll be hiring.
Excellent Communication And Organizational Skills, And Preparedness
This part is more about the trainer’s method of presenting his or her training outline. You can ask for a demo to gauge what their teaching style is like. But if that’s not possible, simply have a conversation with them about what they know regarding forklifts and its functions. You’ll have an inkling if they fully understand the industrial truck.