Have we mentioned how much we appreciate you taking the time to read our newsletter? In this November 2014 IVES Update Newsletter:
- Don’t Let Culture Take a Back Seat to Compliance and Costs.
- What’s your Trainer IQ?
- New Forklift Trainer Power Packs!
- Ask Bob: A question on forklift certification.
- New documents available for download.
- Last chance programs.
- What’s Wrong With This? Photos and answer.
- Interesting article links.
- Investigation summary report on a telehandler incident.
Don’t Let Culture Take a Back Seat to Compliance and Costs
“If training is seen as a one-time event, lift truck fleet owners can expect incidents to occur more than once.”
Lift truck operator training is an essential part of establishing and maintaining a culture of safety. Too often, however, training and recertification are viewed as simply checklist items to be completed for the sake of compliance. Rob Vetter, director of training at Ives Training Group, says he frequently finds himself in the room with salty veterans motivated only to complete the chore and get back to the real work.
“They are smart enough to show me what I want to see, but after I leave, the supervisor might not know what’s going on or recognize the difference between optimal practices and shortcomings,” Vetter says. “From the top of a company down, they need to be diligent about enforcing and maintaining safety, every hour of every day.”
Having lost a close friend to an industrial accident, Vetter says it’s easy for him to connect to safe practices on a personal level. In an environment where leadership views training from a purely regulatory perspective, or as a means to prevent financial losses, it can be hard to establish the same level of investment.
“Operators don’t care about compliance and costs,” he says. “And, even if a safety committee does, if consistent support doesn’t come from the top down in an organization, an ideal safety culture will not happen.”
In day-to-day operations, the top risk is excessive speed, he says. Especially when carrying a load, speed makes it harder to control a lift truck, requiring faster reaction times and creating greater risk. Often the issue is compounded by another common mistake: failing to keep a clear view out of the operator cabin.
“It astounds me how many people will pick up a load that blocks their vision and then drive forward,” he says. “You would never do it in your car, so why do it in a lift truck? I can’t understand why they think they have the right of way. It’s not difficult to drive in reverse or get a spotter.”
Vetter acknowledges that training requires an investment of time and money, on which customers like to see a return. Aside from minimizing the risk of injury, decreases in equipment and product damage alone can be staggering, he says. For example, one fleet of 12 lift trucks costs its owner $120,000 per year to maintain.
“That seemed like a lot, but the accountant said it was within normal bounds based on a comparison to previous years,” Vetter recalls. “The maintenance invoices included bent hydraulic rods and cracked wheel rims and I thought, this is not maintenance, this is repair. This equipment is being abused.”
Addressing those costs can help a business retain its earnings, impacting the bottom line while reducing the likelihood of injury and product damage.
By Josh Bond, Associate Editor, Modern Materials Handling
What’s Your Trainer IQ?
Time to test your knowledge! Choose the best answer to the following questions:
1. In addition to being trained, evaluated, and found competent, what must an operator receive before using any mobile equipment?
a) A valid driver’s license.
b) A medical fitness test.
c) Authorization from the employer.
d) The manufacturer’s operating manual.
2. If an operator does not check the equipment’s service brakes during a practical evaluation, you should:
a) Stop and ask him/her about it at an appropriate time.
b) Mark it down on the evaluation form and continue.
c) Stop the evaluation immediately.
d) Tell him/her to check the brakes.
Ask Bob
Q: Is a forklift certification valid from one business to another under OSHA rules? Can a delivery driver operate a forklift at a customer facility if he’s certified with his company or does he need to be certified by the customer’s facility to operate their equipment?
A: The training and qualifications of forklift operators are issued with respect to the types of equipment used and the environment in which they are used and they are not entirely portable.
If, in moving from site to site your operators do not encounter machines or local hazards that are significantly different those they were trained and found capable of dealing with during their original training then no further training is required. However, there are two important factors to consider here:
1) It is very unlikely that the issues/hazards specific to the equipment and site will not change between multiple sites and,
2) OSHA regulations require forklift operators to be “evaluated in the workplace.”
That being said, it would be very prudent if not required of you to ensure that your operators are made familiar with the differences in the equipment and site conditions at each location they drop off at and at the very least are evaluated and designated competent to operate the machines they are assigned to use. If the equipment is similar, this could be done in 15 minutes – just be sure to document it!
I know this could be a daunting task but remember, there is no need to conduct a full blown training class at each location as you only need to focus on the differences between sites and equipment.
If an operator tips a forklift over while traveling down a ramp and gets hurt or killed, OSHA is going to want to know that he/she was trained in ramp procedures and if you don’t have the documentation to support it there will be trouble.
Hope that helps, Bob.
New Documents for Download
We have a few new documents available for you to download, including:
- Trainer’s Log Fillable Form
- Aerial Lift Operator Familiarization Training Log Fillable Form
- Operator Program Evaluation Form
Login to the Member Dashboard to download them now!
Last Chance Programs!
We have limited seats available. Click for details or to register:
Abbotsford, British Columbia
Express Forklift Trainer Nov 17-18
Premium Combo Trainer Dec 1-5
Express Forklift Trainer Dec 8-9
Aerial Lifts Trainer Upgrade Dec 10
Rough Terrain Forklift Trainer Upgrade Dec 11
Trainer Recertification Dec 12
Irving, Texas
Express Forklift Trainer Nov 17-18
Aerial Lifts Trainer Nov 19-21
Tukwila, Washington
Premium Forklift Trainer Nov 17-20
Rough Terrain Forklift Trainer Upgrade Nov 21
Sacramento, California
Express Forklift Trainer Nov 24-25
Express Forklift Trainer Dec 8-9
Trainer Recertification Dec 10
Kapolei, Hawaii
Express Forklift Trainer Dec 1-2
Aerial Lifts Trainer Dec 3-5
Trainer Recertification Dec 8
If those dates don’t work for you, check out our calendar.
What’s Wrong With This?
Can you see what’s wrong with these photos? Click here to share your comments!
Answer to Last Month’s WWWT?
In last month’s photo, the aerial boomlift operator was doing the following things incorrectly:
- Standing on the guardrails. Boomlift operators should always have their feet firmly planted on the floor and never stand on the guardrails for more height. If your machine can’t reach the working area, you have the wrong machine!
- Not wearing fall protection. It looks like the operator was not wearing the required personal fall protection equipment (i.e. a harness and lanyard). Or if he was, it was likely not connected to any anchor point.
Is there anything we missed? Click here to share your comments!
Interesting Articles
- OSHA issues new rules for death and injury reporting… more
- New Coalition for Crane Operator Safety wants OSHA to correct requirements… more
- Fall Protection Blog: It Won’t Happen to Me… more
- 10 don’ts involving forklift fork safety… more
- Reducing complacency in the workplace… more
- California inmates refurbish forklift… more
- OSHA investigating two forklift-related fatalities… more
New Forklift Power Packs!
We’re excited to introduce our new Forklift Trainer Power Packs! We’ve split them into equipment-specific packages and have added new items to make them even more value packed. Now available for:
- Counterbalanced Forklift
- Narrow Aisle Forklift
- Powered Pallet Truck
- Rough Terrain Forklift
Visit our website for more information including package contents and pricing details!
Incident Summary Report
Boxes of drywall compound needed to be delivered to the second floor of a hotel under construction. The boxes were loaded into a job-built waste bin that had been placed unsecured on the forks of a telehandler. The telehandler was then elevated to a second-floor patio door. Workers inside the building began unloading the boxes through the patio door. Another worker entered the elevated bin to help unload; he had no fall protection. When about 10 boxes remained on one side of the bin, the bin flipped sideways off the forks of the telehandler. The worker in the bin fell about 17 feet (5 metres) to the ground and received multiple injuries. A second worker at the patio door fell forward, grabbed onto the forks of the telehandler, and was lowered to the ground; he sustained minor injuries.
Investigation Conclusions
Causes
- Worker and unsecured waste bin fell from telehandler forks: A worker was in a waste bin elevated by a telehandler and was unloading boxes of drywall compound when the unsecured bin flipped off the forks. The worker fell onto a small pile of waste concrete and received multiple injuries. The bin fell because it was not secured properly to the telehandler and was unloaded unevenly.
- Second worker fell from unguarded window: A second worker was at an unguarded patio door, receiving materials. When the first worker fell with the bin, the second worker fell forward, grabbed the forks of the telehandler, and was lowered to the ground. He sustained minor injuries.
Underlying factors
- Uncertified job-built waste bin used as work platform: The job-built waste bin was intended to be placed against windows and openings of the building so the waste construction materials could be removed from the building. The bin was not engineered or certified as a work platform for workers to occupy.
- Unsafe work procedures: When outside access to the second floor was restricted, it forced a change in procedures. Workers were told months before the incident that outside access would be restricted and that they should use fall protection; however, there were no changes in procedures to ensure safety. The operator of the telehandler directed his attention away from the elevated load, which was not secured properly, to direct traffic. A worker entered the bin, which was being used as an uncertified work platform, to unload materials and hand them to another worker at the patio door; neither worker was using fall protection. Multiple unsafe work procedures resulted in this incident.
- Lack of fall protection system: Two workers were not using any components of a proper fall protection system while working approximately 17 feet (5 metres) above grade. One worker fell out of the bin, landing on a small pile of waste concrete, and the worker at the second-floor patio door fell forward and grabbed the elevated forks of the telehandler.
- Inadequate supervision and training: The operator of the telehandler did not receive adequate supervision, instruction, or training to prevent this incident. The drywall workers did not have training, instruction, or supervision to know that fall protection was required and that the waste bin was not designed or certified for workers to occupy.
[Source: WorkSafeBC]
Client Testimonials
“This was a great class and I enjoyed it. The material was very informative and I learned a lot. Definitely would attend another training class.” Tracie, DCK Pacific Construction LLC.
“Instructor was very thorough and professional. I will recommend everybody I know for this training.” John, US Army Corp of Engineers.
“I have taken lift truck training with many different training organizations in the past, including IVES. As far as I’m concerned; IVES Is the most professional one out there!” Frank, City of Richmond.
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