There are actually a range of essential steps in lift truck training which pertain specifically to forklift safety. For starters, it is very vital to make certain that all employees have been properly taught and certified to use the machine. This is a very large piece of equipment that we are talking about. You just cannot take chances with it. Lift truck training is essential business that should be taken seriously. If you choose to skip this process, extreme results can eventually catch up with you. Permitting improperly taught and inexperienced people to operate lift trucks could cause serious damage, terrible injuries and also death.
Make it a standard company policy to always use seatbelts, at all times, no matter what. This is a simple topic which employees usually become lax about, specially since the machine is only traveling 10 miles an hour. Employees usually assume that they will not have any problems and therefore, begin not wearing them. This is where the danger could occur, because it is easy for an accident to occur that can have devastating consequences. This is not a car or a truck; the seatbelt is not necessary to hold them inside the cab if they run into something. In a forklift, the purpose is much more important, even if the equipment travels very slow, in case of a tip-over, the seatbelt holds the driver in place secure in the driver's seat so they would not topple out and be accidentally crushed beneath.
A well-organized reporting system has to be in place in case of any mechanical issues or problems occurring. Employees need a logical way to communicate these situations so that individuals who are accountable for fixing them will. Workers must know enough about the machine that they understand at least the essentials of what could go wrong.
In order to solve lift truck issues before they become a potentially risky and costly, operators should be able to identify most issues. Having a dependable reporting system in place is very important for workplaces that run on shift work. For instance, if one operator is having a problem and he leaves, and the next driver is unaware of the problem during his shift, then catastrophic situations can occur. Forklift training is a lot more involved than just knowing simply how to use the machine.
It is vital that you teach your employees never to jump out of a forklift, even if they are feeling the machinery overturning. The right thing to do in this dicey situation is to lean away from the turn while staying inside the cab and tightly holding on.