The IVES Update Newsletter is a highly informative monthly e-newsletter. It contains up-to-date industry information, regulatory updates, stories from the field, upcoming program dates, What’s Wrong With This? photos, incident reports, our interactive “Ask Bob” question and answer column, new product details and much more.
Whether you're interested in forklifts, mobile elevating work platforms, loaders or excavators – we’ve got you covered. Want to receive it directly to your inbox? Sign up for our IVES Update e-Newsletter!
Year:
Chances are you’ve heard of a SMART goal. The acronym SMART stands for specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time-related, and it’s been around since consultant and former corporate planning director George Doran introduced the concept in a 1981 paper, “There’s a S.M.A.R.T. way to write management’s goals and objectives,” which was published in the journalManagement Review.
It also turns out that SMART goal planning is a great tool for ensuring sound and effective safety training, according to Rachel Hook, GSP, ASHM, Training and Quality Manager at KPA, which provides safety management and workforce compliance software and services for a wide range of businesses. Hook has a background in safety management and writes and reviews training curricula at KPA.
“Training is something we do every day here at KPA, and doing it efficiently is something that’s important to us not only for our business but for our employees,” she says. “So having SMART goals that drive training is something that we feel can really help our customers and clients.”
To begin with, SMART goals align everyone’s focus, ensuring that all team members understand that safety is a priority. This alignment helps to foster a positive safety culture and reinforces the message that every aspect of our operations is important, Hook explains.
That simple SMART acronym then creates a common framework to help the organization shape safety training and ensure its success:
How would this work in the real world? Well, an example would be providing forklift safety training to the warehouse team. A good SMART goal would be to have all warehouse employees complete forklift safety training by the end of the quarters, Hook says. Why? Because it is specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and has a clear timeline. Because that SMART goal is so well defined, it also helps the training planners more rapidly start thinking about the “how,” Hook notes.
“In this instance, you’re probably going to use a combination of hands-on training, and some software learning for them to retain the information,” she explains. “Are you going to do group training or individual training? What do your employees need to know in order to hit this goal? What resources will they need?”
Another example might
be that a company that has noticed an uptick in hand injuries. Safety
managers decide to have all employees participate in at least two safety
meetings focused on hand safety by the end of the month. Again, all the
characteristics of that plan adhere to the SMART approach, so
management can implement that training much more quickly.
“When will you train them? is it’s going to take place in the
morning?” Hook asks. “Will all training take place during work hours?
How is this going to be communicated to employees?”
In terms of getting started with using SMART goals for safety training, Hook suggests that trainers let leading indicators help to drive the goals that they implement using the SMART system.
“I would lead with some things that you’ve been seeing or you have heard about, because that’s going to be relevant and make the most impact,” she explains. “For example, employees might come to you with hazards that they’ve identified and that maybe have been causing some issues. I would identify specific safety hazard risks or other areas for improvement.”
This helps management and safety managers remain proactive and not reactive when it comes to safety planning. Ideally, the goals being set should be out ahead of any possible problems.
“When you have identified those goals, you need to communicate them to everyone that’s taught — management down to employees,” Hook says. “But more than just communicating, you need to address why the goal matters. You have to address the ‘why’ behind it and who it’s going to impact. It’s important to involve your team and be transparent on the need for the goals … that way, everyone is on the same page.”
Once a goal is identified and underway, it’s important to focus on the “measurable” part of the SMART acronym. Different methods to measure progress could be post-training assessments, tabulating the percentage of workers receiving training, and calculating average scores on training, for example.
“You want to make sure that there’s some type of metric that you can measure these goals by,” Hook stresses. “It’s important to celebrate when goals are hit and training wins are hit.
“And always be flexible and adjust as needed, based on results and feedback,” she adds. “Your work environment will evolve, new hires will come on, so these trainings will have to adjust and change over time.”
Most of the problems that occur with SMART goal planning really come down to misapplying the method.
“It’s important to look at the acronym SMART itself when you’re thinking of pitfalls,” Hook explains. “For example, not being specific enough, or not fleshing out the ‘whys’ behind the goals. If you simply create a goal but are not specific, then you’re going to have a hard time getting buy-in from key stakeholders. Along with that, you can’t have a goal and not communicate it — you have to tell those key stakeholders and your employees. Also, not having a relevant goal will prevent you from improving metrics. If the goal isn’t relevant, you’re not going to see an improvement in injuries or incidents going forward.”
A big issue Hook says she sees is non-attainability or an impossible timeframe. “If we say, ‘we’re going to have all our employees trained on X by tomorrow,’ that is not realistic,” she underscores.
Last
but not least, Hook cautions that flexibility should be a key part of
the process, saying, “Goals might need to be adjusted based on your
results and then feedback that you get.”
Source: OHS June 2024
We are excited to release the latest addition to our Did You Catch That videos series, Narrow Aisle Forklift, available in English and Spanish!
The Narrow Aisle Forklift vol. 1 video is currently on sale for $53.50, a savings of 15%!
*Sale ends September 13th!
We are also happy to announce that the Wheel Loader Digital Training Aid is now available in Spanish!
Digital Training Aids are designed specifically to complement our Operator Reference Manuals and are available in downloadable or internet versions. These graphic training aids are a stunning slide show collection of the most accurate and colorful imagery on the market today.
Modesto-based company Champion Industrial Contractors Inc. was slapped with four violations and over $24,000 in fines related to the death of an employee last year.
Fred Von Gunten lll, 21, was crushed by a forklift while working for the company in October. Champion Industrial initially was fined nearly $40,000 but was able to reduce the amount through an informal settlement.
Champion Industrial — a commercial and industrial manufacturing company — was found in violation of four California Division of Occupational Safety and Health standards. Two violations were labeled as “serious” and two as “other.” One of the “other” violations was initially labeled as serious, but was downgraded.
Von Gunten was using the forklift to compact trash inside a waste bin. The forklift had a 1,000-pound concrete block attached to its fully extended mast. As he moved back from the waste bin, sharply turning in the process, the block began “swinging like a pendulum,” according to the 260-page Cal/OSHA report. The forklift toppled from the force of the swinging block. Von Gunten was not wearing a seat belt and was thrown from the forklift to the ground. The vehicle then came down on top of him.
The Modesto Fire Department responded to the call and found Von Gunten pinned underneath the vehicle.
Crews used airbags to stabilize the forklift and remove Von Gunten. Lifesaving efforts were made but he was pronounced dead at the scene. His cause of death was listed as asphyxia.
Shortly after, an OSHA investigator was called to the 1400 block of Coldwell Avenue to interview witnesses, including several employees and managers, among them Champion’s safety manager, John Miller.
In a response written to the “serious” citation given by OSHA, Miller said the practice of using a concrete block to compact trash was not authorized by management. In response to Von Gunten’s death, the company discarded the block and banned the practice, according to Miller’s statement.
“All Champion employees have been informed that calling our waste management company to empty the dumpster is the only approved practice,” read Miller’s statement.
Documents show that Von Gunten said he was certified to use a forklift when he was on-boarded into the company. However, this never was verified by Champion. A list of employees who received in-house forklift certification was included in the report. Von Gunten’s name was not on it.
“He’d still be alive if he wasn’t using that forklift,” said Von Gunten’s father, Fred Von Gunten Jr. “And the manner they had him using it … he would still be alive. He didn’t have any experience and he didn’t have any certifications. He had no right to be on a forklift.”
Source: The Modesto Bee August 2024
The Requalification Power Packs in Spanish has been designed specifically for requalifying Spanish speaking standard forklift operators and has all the tools you will need to carry out your operator requalification training effectively.
We are pleased to announce that our brand new video series Did You Catch That? has been included in our Requalification Power Packs!
"Left the program feeling confident to train operators that will maintain safe operating practices."
- Mark, Premium Combo Train the Trainer Certification
"I really liked everything about the program. The knowledge of the trainer was amazing!"
- Daniel, Custom Train the Trainer Certification
"This is training that I will actually take back and implement within the company."
- Dan, Premium Combo Train the Trainer Certification
copyright © IVES Training Group 2022 All Rights Reserved.
Question: Is it a requirement to having pre-use inspection on rental forklifts?