OPERATOR TRAINING BY ALLIANCE MATERIAL HANDLING
At Alliance Material Handling, we understand the pivotal role that forklift and aerial lift operators play in ensuring the smooth and efficient operation of your business. That’s why we take pride in offering comprehensive operator training programs designed to enhance safety, productivity, and overall workplace efficiency.
Our decades of experience makes us a reliable source for thorough training that prepares your operators by helping them understand the limitations of your equipment and how to safely operate it, within the parameters of your operation.
Well-trained forklift operators are more efficient in their tasks, leading to increased productivity for your business. Our programs cover best practices for load handling, maneuvering, and warehouse optimization, helping operators work smarter and more effectively.
Why Train With Alliance Material Handling, Inc.?
Properly trained forklift operators are more productive, reduce product and facility damage, and lower the overall cost of your material handling storage operation.
- Training Conducted at Your Facility or Ours!
- Forklift Operator Safety Training
- Forklift Operator Refresher Training
- Pedestrian Training
- Operator Safety Training for Aerial Lifts, Scissor lifts and Boom lifts
- Train the Trainer Programs
- Equipment Pre-Shift Inspections and Documentation
- Proper Battery Inspection, Watering and Charging Techniques
- Propane Tank (LP) Inspection and Storage
Training Courses
Forklift Operator Safety
Classes are offered at the Alliance Material Handling headquarters in Jessup, Maryland (540-868-4190) monthly and on a rotating basis for two out of three of our Virginia locations (540-868-4190). This training meets all of the formal classroom and practical training requirements of the OSHA law.
Complete and thorough forklift operator training conducted by an experienced and reliable source will ensure your operators are safer. It also helps maintain excessive repairs and reduces your overall maintenance costs.
- OSHA Forklift Regulations
- What is a Professional?
- Lift Truck Fundamentals
- Principles of Balance, Stability and Capacity
- Pre-Operational Inspections
- Safety Guidelines for Operating Lift Trucks
- Safe Load-Handling Techniques
- Fueling: IC Trucks and Batteries
- Proper Accident and Safety Hazards Documentation
The usual suspects to attend our forklift operator training classes are obvious, those who routinely operate your forklifts. However, the list should extend beyond those people to include those the “might” operate a forklift for any reason at all, even if it means to move it out of the way so they can get to storage materials for example.
Training others about forklifts benefits your employees even if they never operate a forklift because it gives them a better understanding of the dangers and limitation of your forklifts. The creates a healthy respect for these vehicles and will result in better awareness in your facility, reduced accidents, costs and improved productivity.
- Forklift Operators
- Truck Drivers
- Warehouse Supervisors
- Plant Managers
- Distribution Managers
- Anyone who may operate a lift truck
- Anyone who works in an area routinely around forklifts
The most obvious reason for forklift operator training is, it’s the LAW! Non-compliance with OSHA requirements are costly enough in terms of fines and citations, legal representation and lost productivity. Adding an accident in your facility to that mix, and your costs can spiral quickly and dramatically.
However, there are other good reasons to conduct and maintain a robust training program. Much like high-performing athletes must stay on top of their game with practice and continual training to improve performance, so must your forklift operators. The benefits include:
- Reduce your insurance premiums – Reducing accidents, product and facility damage can reduce your insurance costs.
- Save on lift truck maintenance costs from damage & abuse – Catching small maintenance issues is far less costly than missing them until they become giant repair headaches (eg. low engine oil)
- Insure yours or your employees safety – Not only are your operators safer with a robust training program, so are you and anyone that works around your forklifts, visits your facility or happens by your warehouse.
- Improve equipment longevity – Equipment that is inspected more frequently is maintained better (see #2). This leads to equipment that performs better and lasts longer.
- Cut down on product damage & warehouse accident
Following OSHA Regulation 29, CFR 1910.178 Powered Industrial Truck Operator Training, your operators are required to successfully complete both classroom and hands-on training. Also included in our training programs are the following:
- Workbooks
- Classroom discussions
- Video presentations
- Testing
- Certification
- Wallet cards
- Compliance with regulatory requirements – OSHA and ANSI have requirements regarding forklifts. And ultimately it is up to you, the employer to see that your operators and fleet managers are aware of the regulations and that your company is in compliance. Failure to comply not only opens your company up for potential fines, but also for fiscal damages should an injury occur with your fleet and operator out of compliance with government standards and regulations. But the benefits go far beyond compliance.
- Increased useful life and lower operating costs – Training not only in safe, proper forklift operation, but also in proper pre-shift inspections will result in catching small maintenance issues and fixing them before they blossom into giant repair headaches. Knowing proper methods of operating a forklift also results in less wear and tear on your equipment. All of this results in equipment that stays in better condition for a longer period of time, an increase in useful life of your forklifts, and lower operating costs. Proper training will also lower your costs in terms of less damage to the products your operators move, and to your facility. The bottom line is thorough, documented and formalized training leads to better care for your equipment, your products, your facility and your bottom line.
- Better morale and improved “spirit” of safety – Employees that are professionally trained truly feel cared for, and they should! Each of your forklift operators is in control of a very dangerous piece of equipment. One wrong move could permanently change their lives or the lives of people working around the forklift. When they know you “have their back” and are not simply going through the motions to appease government, they respond positively by projecting that spirit of safety into other facets of your operation and will “have your back” by letting you know of other possible improvements that could benefit your company.
- Improved productivity – Operators that receive ongoing training are more efficient at operating your forklifts. This efficiency translates into more productive employees. Improved morale and efficiency gained from training will increase how much work each of your operators can accomplish in a day, and that improves your bottom line.
Forklift operators are required to undergo refresher training when:
- It has been three years since the operator has been trained.
- Equipment type being operated changes.
- When there are significant changes in the facility the lift trucks are being operated.
- Operator is involved in an accident or “near miss.”
- Operator is observed operating the equipment in an unsafe manner.
Aerial Lift Training
Training on lifting equipment, including: Aerial Lifts, Scissor Lifts, and Boom Lifts.
1926.453 states “Only authorized persons shall operate an aerial lift”.
We offer complete Aerial Lift Operator Training and Train the Trainer Programs at your facility.
Relevant standards for regular staff include:
- Understanding of fall protection systems
- Operating characteristics of the MEWP
- Appropriate behavior on elevating platforms
- Understanding of the frequency and consequences of workplace accidents
- How to identify and remove hazards related to the equipment
A92.3 – Manually Propelled Elevating Aerial Platforms
A92.6 – Self Propelled Work Platforms
A92.5 – Boom Supported Elevating Work Platforms
Formal Training: Classroom training to comply with OSHA 1926.453 & ANSI Standards, videos, Power Point program, Fall Protection, discussion, written test and an Aerial Lift Safety Booklet.
Practical Training: Operators machine and worksite inspections, Fall
Protection and operating skills.
Evaluation: Each operator evaluated for Safe and Proper machine operation in their work place.
Each operator will receive a permit card and a certificate suitable for framing along with full documentation for your OSHA records.
Employers wondering “does OSHA require training for aerial lifts” should be aware that OSHA is extremely strict about aerial lift safety violations. It’s highly recommended that employers implement high-quality, OSHA-approved training videos to ensure all employees are well-informed.
Separate training should be provided for each MEWP in service. All staff should be provided with training, whether they’re standing on the platform or operating the vehicle.
Diligence saves lives, and compliance saves companies from significant fines. There’s every reason to implement OSHA-approved aerial lift training in your workplace today.
Like forklift operators, aerial lift operators are required to undergo refresher training when:
- It has been three years since the operator has been trained.
- Equipment type being operated changes.
- When there are significant changes in the facility the lift trucks are being operated.
- Operator is involved in an accident or “near miss.”
- Operator is observed operating the equipment in an unsafe manner.
Train the Trainer
A forklift safety program can be implemented efficiently by utilizing the expertise of one of your own employees to train your employees.
Trainer program members can become company trainers through education and materials provided by the company. These individuals should have knowledge of the forklift equipment being used by employees and experience working in the warehouse.
OSHA requires a qualified trainer should be a person who, by possession of a recognized degree, certificate, or professional standing, or who by knowledge, training and experience, has demonstrated the ability to train and evaluate powered industrial truck operators.
Introduction to the New OSHA Law videos, PowerPoint slides, lecture, manual and 33 question written test
Hands-on skills evaluation, operator pre-shift inspection, charging and refueling, and hands-on training customized to your equipment
On Site Plant Survey
Operator Truck Specific Safety Evaluation
Record Keeping
Includes:
SAFETY RELATED ARTICLES
Four Main Traits of a Safety -Minded Company
Learn what four main over-arching themes drive companies that are focused on safety.
Improving Pedestrian Safety in Your Warehouse – Learn what you can do to improve pedestrian safety in your material handling and warehousing operations.
When is Forklift Operator Refresher Training Required? Besides every three years, learn what circumstances OSHA requires your forklift operators to receive refresher training.
Forklift Operator Training vs Teaching; Knowing the Difference – There are vast differences in teaching forklift operators safe forklift operation and truly training them. This Feature Article highlights the learning process and gives you ideas about what you can do to reinforce your program to ensure actual training is taking place.
FORKLIFT SAFETY DOWNLOADS
Training
Never Ends
Since 1970, OSHA has worked to create a safer workplace for all employees, and their mission has been very successful. However, accidents still happen, and not only at companies willfully violating OSHA standards. Sometimes safety goes beyond meeting standards due to unique circumstances in certain operations.
Employees are involved in ongoing training – how to lift more safely, how to sit properly in a chair, how to operate a certain piece of equipment and so on. Your business is fluid: things change; equipment changes; and equipment, building space and employees are added. As your conditions change, your training must address these changes. Training for the safest work environments is never a one-time event or a two- or three-day training initiation. It is an ongoing pursuit of the safest possible work facility. It should be a goal of all employees to see that their coworkers go home safe every night.
Make It
A Mission
As managers and owners, we want a safe work environment for all of our employees. Unfortunately, all too often it escapes us. Time passes quickly, and initiatives that were once important standards become guidelines or even merely suggestions. How can we ensure that when we put safety measures in place, they will stay in place as employees come and go in a business climate that is constantly in flux?
Safe companies put as much emphasis on doing things safely as on doing them productively. From day one, every employee knows they are working for a company that would rather they do their job safely than quickly. These employees will lockout a piece of equipment when something goes wrong, will replace light bulbs that need it instead of ignoring them and will report unsafe behavior or unsafe conditions.
Be Involved
& Accountable
While involvement in a safe work environment must start from the corner office, the mission and strategy it is also important to ensure that every employee knows that they are involved and responsible. It is a good idea to create safety teams for every facet of your business, to revolve people in and out of those teams, and to have them conduct frequent facility or department reviews to identify potential threats. The most successful companies have reward systems for reporting anything that could be a potential threat, even if it is as minor as a sharp corner on a coat rack. This keeps all employees engaged in creating a safe work environment.
Once you have established your safety mission and mapped out your strategy, everyone involved must be held accountable. No one can shirk their safety responsibilities. If a sharp corner on a coat rack is missed and someone gets cut, find out why no one noticed. Are they doing regular inspections? If safety standards are not being met, it is the leadership’s job to find out why and fix it. Everyone must know that if an accident happens on their watch, it must be accounted for and a plan must be designed to ensure that it will not happen again.