Saving time and money while keeping your company safe are priorities for many employers. Finding new, cost-effective ways to boost productivity is crucial for job security and success. Forklift training delivers on both of these fronts, but many companies believe forklift training is expensive, time-consuming, or unnecessary.
It’s not the most glamorous part of your warehouse, but forklifts are an important part of your company’s operations. When you already have a fully-loaded schedule and plenty of other responsibilities in the warehouse to worry about, adding forklift certification and training can sound daunting. But it shouldn’t. There are four main reasons why forklift training with TDT needs to be a priority for your company, starting today.
Improved productivity and saves time
Forklift training is a necessity for all employees who operate forklifts. Your company must take this step for their workers’ safety and ensure OSHA requirements are met. Forklift training can be done in many forms, with some companies using videos and others using live instruction. Regardless of which method is chosen, it is important that you offer quality forklift training.
Forklift training is a prerequisite in most companies. However, many other myths abound. Some believe that forklift training should be done every day or once a week. It depends on what your needs are. Ask yourself what do you need to get rid of from the area where an accident happened.
Prevents accident
Forklift training can help reduce forklift accidents in your warehouse. Forklift accident prevention is actually quite simple and falls under two categories: Train on the safe use of a forklift before you drive it, and wear the right safety equipment while operating a forklift.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there were 218 forklift-related fatalities in the workplace from 2003 to 2007. That is an average of 17 deaths per year. This averages to about one death every four weeks.
The Forklift Training and Operator Certification Act, passed in 1999, requires that employers provide forklift safety training courses to all employees who use or operate a forklift on company premises. To make forklift training safer, the law also requires that employers use only trainers approved by the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) or get a certificate from a state workforce agency. These processes ensure that qualified instructors teach all forklift training programs and that all forklift safety requirements are covered in forklift training programs.
Inventory losses
To me, forklift training is one of the biggest reasons I believe in training. The first reason is that it makes employees more careful when moving inventory because they know that any damage will be charged back to them–sometimes even at their hourly rate. The second reason is that it’s educational. It saves the company money by reducing turnover and reduces injuries due to carelessness in handling merchandise.
Partially or completely damaged goods, pilferage, and items lost due to fire are real risks in the warehousing, retail, and restaurant industries. These risks can be ended by employing forklift safety training programs. Forklifts contain many different moving parts that a worker can get injured on.
Less money and time
Maintaining forklift equipment is one of the top challenges which all business owners face. This is a huge issue that takes up a lot of time, money, and effort for all companies running their businesses through these machines. And the basic cause behind this is the lack of proper training, technical knowledge, and negligence that comes from treating the equipment as a toy that is used to play and have fun. So to overcome this problem, you must consider finding an efficient solution for the maintenance of your forklifts.
One of the benefits of using forklift software is that it helps your company in operating more efficiently. A good solution can do this for your business by enabling you to maintain your warehouse equipment better. Utilizing technology to ensure effective maintenance on forklifts and other warehouse equipment will allow you to save money in the long run. In fact, it may even help you save time and effort on tasks like scheduling repairs and performing preventive maintenance as well.
Damage protection
Proper forklift training is a must to reduce the dangers of forklifts. Accidents and problems occur when forklift operators are not properly trained. Educating your staff also protects your machinery from damage.
On average, about 60,000 people are injured every year while using forklifts. This is why you must give your employees appropriate training before operating such a powerful piece of machinery.
When moving heavy or bulky materials or equipment, forklifts are considered the best choice; however, abuses and improper use can cause damages to the machine besides affecting the operator.
Forklift training is a must for anyone who uses forklifts regularly. Before the forklift instructor starts teaching proper forklift operation and safe work practices, the student must complete a forklift safety quiz. This consists of true-false questions, such as there is enough room to back up and turn the forklift around, or it only takes one foot to operate a forklift.
