Recertifying Forklift Operators

Evergreen’s Eric Tofte and intern John Neibel started November off with some onsite training. We spent the first two days of the month working with a local utility company; their employees welcomed us with warm wishes even though it was  literally freezing outside. Approximately 30 people were recertified to operate the forklifts at this location over two days.


Machine inspection

 Some things to note from the class: most of us have our bad habits when it comes to operating Forklifts, but we kept seeing some more than others and they warrant mentioning here.



1) When backing look over both shoulders to ensure that there are no obstructions or personnel in the area behind the lift. We noticed that almost everyone likes to look over their right should, but never looked to the left.

2) Keep all body parts inside of the cab of the forklift.  This means - no you cannot hang onto the frame of the overhead protection or hang onto the side of the forklift to steady yourself. A small impact could cause a very serious injury.



Reviewing a driver in action



3) Pedestrians should be trained too - the driver of the forklift may be the one who is responsible for the accident should some one get hurt, but who is the one that is hurting? The Pedestrian. 



4) Horns are there to be used—even though the machine has a back-up alarm. Use the horn to raise the level of awareness of the hazard that is presented, use the horn at any and all blind corners – if you can’t see around it, then they cannot see you; let them know that you are there.