There are a variety of important steps in lift truck training that pertain specifically to lift truck safety. To begin with, it is really essential to ensure that all workers have been properly trained and licensed to utilize the equipment. This is a huge piece of equipment that we are talking about. You simply cannot take chances with it. Lift truck training is important business that should be taken seriously. If you choose to skip this process, extreme consequences could ultimately catch up with you. Allowing incorrectly taught and inexperienced people to drive lift trucks could cause terrible injuries, serious damage and even fatality.
Make it a standard company guideline to always use seatbelts, all the time, no matter what. This is a simple subject which employees often become lax about, specially because the machinery is only traveling 10 miles an hour. Employees usually think that they will not have any problems and therefore, start not wearing them. This is where the danger could happen, because it is easy for an accident to occur which can have devastating results. This is not an automobile 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 machinery travels very slow, in the unfortunate event of a tip-over, the seatbelt holds the driver in place secure in the operator's seat so they will not stumble out and be accidentally crushed underneath.
In the event of any mechanical issues or problems, a well-organized reporting system needs to be implemented. Workers need a rational 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 very basics of what could go wrong.
A driver needs to be able to detect if there is a problem with the lift truck so as to rectify it before it becomes a big and possibly risky or costly problem. Having a reliable reporting system in place is really important for workplaces which run on shift work. Like for instance, if one driver leaves after knowing that there is a problem, and the next operator doesn't know the problem during his shift, then terrible situations can happen. Forklift training is a lot more involved than just learning just how to use the equipment.
It doesn't matter if a worker feels that the equipment is overturning, instruct your employees to never jump out of a lift truck. The trick in this dangerous situation is to lean away from the turn while staying inside the cab and holding on tightly.