We hope you had a great summer! Here’s a list of topics that we’ll be covering in this September 2014 IVES Update Newsletter:
- Feature Article: No Weak Links.
- New forklift videos and rigger’s handbook.
- Ask Bob: A question on aerial lift refresher training.
- What’s your trainer IQ? Answer.
- Last chance programs.
- What’s Wrong With This? Photo and answer.
- Interesting article links.
- Incident report.
- Joke of the month.
But first, check out all the places we are delivering training this month…
No Weak Links
It is encouraging to see the improvements in the attitudes and actions of workers, supervisors and employers toward safety since I entered the workforce back in the mid-1970s. Back then, safety was conveyed passively and almost never enforced to any effective degree. It was my experience that if you wanted to be safe, you had to ask for things like training and PPE, which was begrudgingly and often poorly distributed. This is largely not the case today as the increased development and enforcement of safety regulations over the years has raised the awareness of safety among employers which, in turn, has allowed them to realize the many potential financial gains made possible through working safely. Likewise, employees who have realized that working safely is not merely a matter of following rules and avoiding discipline but a means to living their personal lives to the fullest by avoiding the devastating consequences of injury or disease suffered at work, are enjoying the core benefits of working safely.
However, there is one link in the chain between employers and workers that in my opinion is lagging behind the others in terms of receiving the information and training needed to do their jobs properly, and that group is the supervisors. Supervisors are often overlooked in the overall safety plan of many companies which creates a critical flaw that ultimately weakens the safety chain, often to the point of failure.
It’s not that Supervisors don’t get the information and training they need to keep themselves safe but that they don’t get the information and training needed to ensure that the workers under their watch are working safely. Hence the critical flaw that creates the opening for workers to work unsafely or otherwise contrary to any training received because their Supervisors lack the knowledge to recognize the situation much less correct it, as is their duty.
Recognizing this situation is one small step for employers but doing something about it is the one giant leap they must make if they expect to enjoy the benefits of a well implemented and maintained safety program. The key word here being maintained, in that it incorporates ongoing, sustained effort directed toward consistent and dedicated delivery, enforcement and improvement of the overall safety plan from every link in the chain, especially the Supervisors!
Supervisors must be involved in the safety plan. It is their duty and responsibility to ensure it is delivered, understood and carried out by every worker on their crew every hour of every day. To do that, they must be given every bit as much knowledge and training as their workers and the means to recognize, correct, reward and/or discipline workers who do not follow safe work procedures as per their training.
Wherever possible, Supervisors should be routed through the same training as their workers. The goal is to provide them with information and knowledge on how to properly and safely perform the work that the workers under their supervision perform. There is no need to evaluate their competence in job-specific tasks unless they are expected to perform such tasks. By partaking in this training, Supervisors are more able to actively and effectively supervise workers. Where it is not possible for Supervisors to partake in the training their workers do, some effort must be made to equip them with basic information on how and why workers are being trained to do their jobs the way they are. This basic information could be conveyed to Supervisors through abbreviated training sessions that do not include the practical hands-on components of full worker training programs, briefing sessions where only safe work methods and procedures are reviewed or perhaps simplest of all, providing Supervisors with job specific checklists containing “must do” safety items that they could use as a quick reference while monitoring workers.
There is no doubt the level of accessibility, quality and general buy-in to safety and safety training throughout all levels of business and industry has increased exponentially over what it was in the past. Respectively, employers and workers alike are now enjoying the numerous benefits that may be realized through working safely from corporate financial efficiency to the most precious asset of all, quality of life if not life itself. However, there is work to be done to improve the strength of the safety chain which can be achieved relatively easily by including Supervisors in the mix and providing them with job/task specific knowledge and empowering them with the means to ensure that safety training marks the beginning of the process, not the end.
Rob Vetter
Director of Training
IVES Training Group
New Introductory Videos!
Now available for Counterbalanced Forklifts, Narrow Aisle Reach Trucks, Powered Pallet Trucks and Rough Terrain Telehandler Forklifts. Our new videos are designed to provide trainees with basic information on the parts and workings of the equipment they use. These videos feature an experienced trainer taking the viewer through an inspection of the machine while explaining the main parts, safety features and operational controls.
Product Price: $103.95
IVES Member Price: $89.95 each
New! The Complete Rigger’s Reference Handbook
A practical, well-illustrated guide designed as a quick reference tool for the beginning and professional rigger, crane operator, supervisor and others responsible for the safe and proper use and inspection of rigging gear. View more details here…
Product Price: $28.95 each
IVES Member Price: $24.95 each
Ask Bob
Q: Dear Bob, How long is the aerial lift safety good for and when is recertification required? Someone told me that retraining is required every 5 years or if there is an accident or if we witness any employee improperly using an aerial lift/boom truck. I want to confirm this information with someone who is knowledgeable in that area. Thanks!
A: Refresher training on aerial lifts is required based upon the observations of the user/employer. In other words, when an employer looks and sees an operator using the equipment improperly the employer is required to provide refresher training and evaluation. Obviously, if an operator were involved in a damage/injury-producing incident with the equipment, that would also be an indication that the operator needs some refreshing.
What’s not so obvious is that time interval between “observations” of aerial lift operators. Unfortunately these are not done or recorded or are left until something happens which may be too late. I would recommend fitting aerial lift operators into the same three-year cycle for refresher training as forklift operators are subject to.
That way it gets done and documented regularly which is a huge help in the event of an incident that draws the attention of regulatory or legal representatives.
Do you have a technical/training question for Bob? Login to send it in!
What’s Your Trainer IQ? ANSWER
Below you’ll find the answers to last month’s questions in bold. Did you choose correctly?
1. Why is it important to initial changes you make to a practical evaluation form? a) To have on record the name of the person who actually made the change.
b) To indicate for the record that the change was actually intentional.
c) To make the document look official.
d) So that you can be contacted if there are any questions afterward.
2. Which phrase best describes “load center”? a) The location of the center of gravity of the load.
b) The single point where an object is balanced in all directions.
c) The area in which the combined center of gravity must remain for the equipment to remain stable.
d) The point at which a forklift is rated to lift a maximum load.
Last Chance Programs!
We have limited seats available in the following upcoming programs:
Abbotsford, BC
Aerial Lifts Trainer Upgrade Sept 25
Loader Group Trainer Sept 29-Oct 3
Aerial Lifts Trainer Oct 8-10
Salt Lake City, Utah
Trainer Recertification Sept 26
Sacramento, California
Loader Group Trainer Sept 29-Oct 3
Aerial Lifts Trainer Oct 7-9
Premium Forklift Trainer Oct 14-17
Las Vegas, Nevada
Aerial Lifts Trainer Sept 30-Oct 2
Trainer Recertification Oct 3
Tukwila, Washington
Trainer Recertification Oct 17
Forest Park, Georgia
Aerial Lifts Trainer Oct 28-30
Trainer Recertification Oct 31
Claremont, Southern California
Trainer Recertification Oct 31
For more program and date options, view our calendar.
What’s Wrong With This?
Can you spot what’s wrong with this photo? Click here to share your comments!
Answer to Last Month’s WWWT?
In last month’s photo, the aerial boomlift operator is doing the following things incorrectly:
- The operator isn’t wearing any fall protection.
- The deck is cluttered with material, which poses a tripping hazard.
- The operator is elevated off the side of the base, instead of directly off the front or rear which would make the machine more stable.
- The area doesn’t look like it is coned off on the road or sidewalk to prevent the public from getting too close to the equipment.
Is there anything we missed? Leave a comment here!
Interesting News Articles
- Workplace safety doesn’t cost. It pays… more
- JLG 400S & 360SJ Boomlift Service Alert… more
- Video: Safety is Personal: An Employer’s Story… more
- Man dies after forklift accident at Lynnwood Goodwill… more
- 5 maintenance tips for heavy machinery… more
- Virginia forklift incident kills one, injuries one… more
- Texas workers more likely to die than counterparts elsewhere… more
Incident Report
A 47-year-old Acton man is dead after a workplace incident at Voisin’s Equipment Rental Ltd.
Just before 9:30 a.m. Monday, emergency crews were called to attend the Puslinch business with the report of a man trapped under a forklift. The victim was employed by Ali’s Transportation, not Voisin’s, the Ministry of Labour reports.
Bruce Skeaff, spokesperson for the Ministry of Labour, said he heard from police the incident took place while a man was loading a scissor-lift machine into a truck with a forklift.
Skeaff said the forklift reportedly fell off the ramp it was on and crushed a worker.
Voisin’s Equipment Rental was contacted but declined to comment on the incident.
Ministry of Labour investigators are on scene but no orders have been given out.
A police investigation is also ongoing. The man’s identity has not been released.
[Source: www.therecord.com]
Joke of the Month
A woman has twins and gives them up for adoption. One of them goes to a family in Egypt and is named “Ahmal.” The other goes to a family in Spain; they name him “Juan.”
Years later, Juan sends a picture of himself to his birth mother. Upon receiving the picture she tells her husband that she wishes she also had a picture of Ahmal. Her husband responds, “They’re twins! If you’ve seen Juan, you’ve seen Ahmal.”
Client Testimonials
“Very good and informative class. Strongly recommend this program.” Thomas, SOC Nevada LLC.
“I have been in many different training classes throughout my 33 years in my career. This class has opened my eyes in many different training skills/styles I will use on my job.” Tony, Marathon Petroleum.
“This is the most comprehensive program I have attended thus far. Excellent instructor!” Jeff, H&E Equipment Services.
Did you enjoy this newsletter? Sign up for our newsletter to receive more like this!
