We have lots of great information lined up to share May 2014 IVES Update Newsletter, including…
- An Open Letter to Employers – Train Your Forklift Operators.
- What’s your trainer IQ?
- A question on working outside aerial baskets.
- Last chance programs.
- What’s Wrong With This? Photo and answer.
- Interesting article links.
- Incident investigation report.
- Tips for gaining employer support.
- New document available for download.
- But first, check out all the places we are delivering training this month…
An Open Letter to Employers – Train Your Forklift Operators
WANTED – Trained and qualified forklift operator with at least 5 years’ experience on sit-down counterbalanced units as well as stand-up reach trucks and powered pallet trucks. Must have valid Operator’s Certificate.
Have you ever seen an employment ad like this? I have, and when I do I just shake my head at yet another employer that doesn’t know what is expected or required with respect to training/qualifying forklift operators across North America. When people ask me what the biggest stumbling block is in ensuring forklift operators are properly trained and evaluated my answer is hands down, the ignorance of employers. I don’t mean that to be as insulting as it sounds, I mean “ignorance” in the truest sense of the word, which is literally a lack of knowledge, information or education. There is no particular shame in not knowing but it’s a dangerous and false assumption that it is an acceptable excuse in the eyes of regulatory authorities. In fact, for a company to admit ignorance of the applicable occupational safety health (OSH) laws that govern their business as an excuse for not implementing and enforcing said laws is to admit negligence.
It is all well and good for an employer to require a new hire to possess some degree of experience in the work being offered but it is completely unacceptable except under the most narrow circumstances to accept such experience, no matter how well documented or represented, as being synonymous with regulatory compliance at the very least or operational competence at the very most.
Let’s look at a scenario that depicts the aforementioned ‘narrow circumstances’ and discuss the minimum amount of process due in most regulatory jurisdictions across North America in such a scenario.
John Doe gets laid off from the warehouse he has worked at for the past 10 years. During his time there his employer trained and qualified him on the forklift he used during all 10 years of his employment, a Toyopillar 100. John’s company feels awful about having to lay him off so in an effort to help him present himself as a more attractive prospective employee they provide him with all of the training records that accumulated in his employee file over his tenure of employment at the warehouse.
John takes his forklift operator training records and credentials to a job interview at another warehouse a week later. During the interview, John and his interviewer are elated to learn that his records not only indicate that his past training and experience are applicable to the job he is applying for but that they match identically from the specifics of the tasks involved to the environment the work is done in to the types of loads moved right down to the Toyopillar 100 forklift he would be assigned to operate. With this information at hand, John shakes hands with his new employer and is hired. After filling out a few administrative forms and being issued his basic personal protective equipment, John is given a brief tour of the facility and put to work on the forklift under the watchful eye of his fellow forklift operators.
While it was prudent and required of John’s new employer to request proof of previous training and then assess it and his past work experience relative to the work that he would be expected to perform at his new job, it is still not enough. Even in the highly unlikely narrow circumstances described in the scenario above where a new hire’s past training and experience matched exactly the situational requirements of a potential new employer, the new employer would, at the very least, still be required to conduct a practical evaluation of the operator’s knowledge and skills in the workplace.
Looking back on this scenario, how likely is it that a potential new hire would show up at a job interview with even his or her past training documents? Further, how likely is it that those training documents would show that the potential employee’s past work and training history matches up exactly with the situation at the new warehouse, right down to the model of forklift used? I am going to go out on a limb here and say that the occurrence of this scenario is not only unlikely but virtually impossible.
Employers must train and evaluate their employees to the specifics of the workplace, the equipment used and, of course, the tasks required. In reality, an employer is the only entity that can qualify a forklift operator to work at their workplace because of the specific nature of the OSH requirements relative to forklift operator training.
So, if a potential new hire applies for a forklift operator job at your workplace, even one that fits the impossibly narrow circumstances described above, acknowledge and assess their past training and experience but if you hire them, play it safe and cover your bases by putting them through your forklift operator training and qualification process anyway.
Rob Vetter
Director of Training
IVES Training Group
What’s Your Trainer IQ?
Time to test your knowledge! Choose the best answer to the following questions…
1. The greatest asset you have in performing your instructional duties is:
a) Equipment knowledge.
b) Ability to communicate.
c) Lesson plan.
2. Lifting and/or hoisting equipment utilize _______ to multiply the force applied to move a load.
a) Pressure.
b) Counterweight.
c) Leverage.
Stay tuned, we’ll share the correct answers next month.
Ask Bob
Q: I have been informed by a fellow instructor that IVES indicates it is acceptable to use a tie off point inside an aerial lift basket, while working outside the aerial lift basket. Please correct me if i am mistaken, I think the other instructor is incorrect. Does IVES’ aerial lift instructor training indicate this practice is OK?
A: I agree with you in that I also think it is a bad idea to tie off to the platform of an aerial lift when you are not actually in it. However, I have two interpretations from OSHA on the topic and I think you will see as I did after reading them that OSHA allows the practice as long as the capabilities/ratings of the anchor point are not exceeded should a fall occur (read the interpretations here and here). If this cannot be assured, then the person/operator should tie off to another suitable anchor point outside of the platform.
One point I like to make to discourage operators from doing this (or companies from allowing it) is, even though OSHA appears to allow the practice you will notice that each interpretation points back to not exceeding the load rating of the anchor point. Since it is the manufacturer that builds the anchor points to meet (or exceed) the minimum design and construction requirements, I can assure you that their calculations and/or tests used in certifying the anchor points do not include any provisions for operators falling from positions outside of the platform. I’m not stating this as a fact but if I were a manufacturer, I wouldn’t. Would you?
Besides, being tied off to an anchor point that could potentially move independently from you moving is just a really bad idea and should be avoided.
New Downloadable Documents
We’ve added the following document to the Member Dashboard for IVES Certified Trainers to download:
Recertification Theory Test Answer Keys
Login then click Downloadable Materials & Updates to get your copy.
Last Chance to Register!
We have limited seats available in the following upcoming trainer programs…
Oshawa, Ontario
Premium Forklift Trainer May 26-29
Trainer Recertification May 30
Abbotsford, British Columbia
Express Forklift Trainer June 16-17
Premium Forklift Trainer June 23-26
Rough Terrain Forklift Trainer Upgrade June 27
Prince George, British Columbia
Express Forklift Trainer June 10-11
Trainer Recertification June 12
Sacramento, California
Aerial Lifts Trainer June 3-6
Trainer Recertification June 11
Premium Combo Trainer July 7-11
Las Vegas, Nevada
Trainer Recertification June 6
Premium Forklift Trainer July 21-24
Rough Terrain Forklift Trainer Upgrade July 25
Rancho Cucamonga, California
Aerial Lifts Trainer July 14-17
Tukwila, Washington
Express Forklift Trainer July 16-17
Trainer Recertification July 18
Irving, Texas
Premium Forklift Trainer July 21-24
Trainer Recertification July 25
Salt Lake City, Utah
Premium Combo Trainer July 28-August 1
Looking for other program dates? View our calendar.
What’s Wrong With This?
Do you know what’s wrong with this? Click here to share your answer!
Answer to Last Month’s WWWT?
There are a number of things wrong in last month’s photo. The obvious one is that the worker is standing on the guardrails, however, here are some other not so obvious infractions:
- The worker is leaving an elevated platform which is prohibited or at least limited by protocols by some manufacturers.
- It’s hard to see if his fall protection lanyard is connected to the platform anchor point, but if it is, then he shouldn’t remain tied off to the platform if he’s not going to be in it. If it isn’t, then it should be connected to a suitable anchorage point outside the platform.
- From a trainer’s perspective, if I were evaluating this operator I would prefer to see him position the unit so that he could boom up to the work location with the platform extended off of one of the axles rather than off the side for great stability. Elevating over the longest base is something we expect operators to do wherever reasonably possible.
Interesting News Articles
- Man pinned by stolen forklift in joyriding accident… more
- North Dakota has the most workplace deaths… more
- 21-year-old dies in skid steer loader accident in South Dakota… more
- Arizona gets more time to defend it’s fall protection standard… more
- Video: Largest JENGA game played with Cat excavators… more
- Forklift falls into hole at port in UK (photo below)… more
Incident Reports
At a veneer and lumber manufacturing plant, a spareman was working in an area alone during the night shift. The spareman parked and exited a forklift loaded with four stacks of veneer. He entered the area in front of the machine. The mobile equipment rolled forward and pinned the spareman between the load carried on the forklift and two stacks of veneer he had previously positioned on the ground. A supervisor found the spareman, deceased, about one and a half hours after he had last seen him. View the audio slideshow here.
Source: [WorkSafeBC]
Tips for Gaining Employer Support
Attending an IVES Trainer Certification Program may be the most cost-effective educational choice you will make all year. You will gain new and greater knowledge plus practical skills and techniques that you can apply directly to your job of training mobile equipment operators.
When you propose to attend an IVES Trainer Certification Program, focus specifically on what you will bring back to the company to demonstrate return on investment.
Here are a few tips for gaining employer support:
- Offer to deliver a short meeting and Q&A to your colleagues or team members after the program to share what you learn; which means they will get the benefits of your attendance too.
- Be ready with an idea of who will cover for you while you are attending the program.
- Take time to understand your company’s needs and then what specific components of the program will help it the most.
- Emphasize the benefits of how attending will enable you and your company to meet and interact with safety and training professionals in similar roles from companies across the country.
- Elaborate on how you will gain valuable information and skills that will help bring your mobile equipment operator training into regulatory compliance and protect your company from liability.
Upcoming Events
We’ll be exhibiting at the following conferences in 2014:
- ASSE Conference & Expo. Orlando, FL. June 8-11
- NSC Congress & Expo. San Diego, CA. September 14-19
Client Testimonials
“The materials, aids and approach were fantastic. I loved the training and the instructor’s style of teaching. It’s been a long time since I have gone through that intense of a course and been engaged.” Kaci, Anheuser-Busch.
“Great program, didn’t realize how much I didn’t know.” John, GRP Mechanical.
“I found the program enjoyable, educational and feel it will serve me well as the foundation on which I will build my instructional techniques.” Esther, Cool Creek Energy Ltd.
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