SCM Instructor Toby Gooley, Contributing Editor at DC Velocity, writes that fleet managers may need to reconsider their one-size-fits-all approach to forklift safety training.
"Fleet managers may need to reconsider that approach as warehouses and distribution centers (DCs) continue to grapple with acute labor shortages and unprecedented rates of employee turnover. At many facilities, 50% of the warehouse staff has fewer than 90 days on the job—'a statistic I’ve heard over and over' in conversations with customers, particularly those involved in cold storage or in densely populated areas where there is strong competition for labor, reports Jim Gaskell, director of global automation and emerging technologies for Crown Equipment Corp.
Many of those newer employees may be experienced forklift operators in search of higher pay and signing bonuses. But with facilities having to work harder to recruit labor, they’re also seeing more new hires who have never been on an industrial truck before. First-timers’ lack of familiarity with the equipment, potential misconceptions about what’s actually involved in operating industrial trucks, and short tenures can be detrimental to safety, so we asked safety training experts for tips on how to work most effectively with this growing population of operators."