10 A SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT TO DC VELOCITY
NA TIONAL FORKLIFT
SAFE TY DAY
fication is NOT portable. The policies, procedures,
and processes may be totally different from company to company, and they may have totally different
forklifts,” he says.
One example of site-specific instruction for people and applications can be found in Columbus, Ind.,
where Toyota Industrial Equipment Manufacturing
(TIEM) produces Toyota forklifts for the North American
market. Like other OEMs, the
company must train not only
operators who move parts
and materials within those
facilities, but also employees
who move trucks from one
production stage to another,
those who conduct quality
tests after each truck comes
off the assembly line, and
sales representatives who
will be demonstrating models for dealers and customers. All of them must train
on every model they will be
operating, regardless of how
briefly that might be, Lego
says.
Within Toyota’s plant
is a safety training dojo, a
Japanese term that will be
familiar to martial arts students and literally means
“exercise hall.” TIEM’s dojo is a dedicated area
where a safety trainer conducts classroom and
hands-on instruction and documents trainees’ certification in compliance with OSHA standards. The
dojo also simulates the operating environment,
with an obstacle course, marking and signage
forklift operators will encounter out on the floor,
and different types of racks and loads for practicing
pickup and putaway. A life-sized representation of
the back end of a trailer allows operators to practice maneuvering in a tight space.
TEST IT AGAIN, SAM
OSHA requires that operators be tested and recertified in the mandated trainings every three years. But
that’s just the baseline, and experts we consulted
agreed that refresher training shouldn’t be limited
to the minimum.
UniCarriers’ safety training team conducts a half-day to full-day forklift safety refresher, depending
on the material that needs to be covered, O’Connor
says. But, he adds, refresher training can take less
time, provided that an appropriately experienced
instructor communicates the material properly
and that the operator is sufficiently re-familiarized
with the material to pass
the required tests and be
certified.
Some employers schedule
refresher training as often as
once a year. That’s the case
at Toyota, which annually
recertifies employees who
make heavy daily use of lift
trucks. Average users go
through recertification every
two years, while sales representatives go through the
process every three years,
Lego says.
There are circumstances
when training outside the
planned schedule is both
appropriate and wise—for
example, whenever new
equipment is introduced to
the facility or when the facility layout or flow changes,
Sometimes, an individual needs additional training for other reasons. For instance, lift truck operators can easily fall into bad habits, like taking
shortcuts that cause safety, quality, or productivity problems, Lego notes. In those cases, he
says, instructors should help operators refocus on
doing things the right way, so their actions don’t
have adverse effects on standard procedures and
safety.
Experienced operators, though, may question the
need for remedial training. One way to respond is
to acknowledge that they are undoubtedly good at
what they do and then explain the critical importance of safe procedures and why they need a
refresher in a particular area or procedure. “They
