Get Your Team Up To Speed In A Flash with These Forklift Operator Skills
In today’s tight labor market, finding people with the right forklift operator skills can be challenging. Operating a forklift in a crowded, busy warehouse sometimes requires nerves of steel, the patience of Job, and the ability to think on your feet.
While ideally, you want to hire someone with years of forklift experience, in reality, you’re often faced with hiring someone with little to no experience. In that case, you must judge their ability to acquire the right forklift operator skills.
In this blog, we’ll identify some skills that forklift operators should master and determine if a potential forklift operator hire has the innate skills to become a successful and productive member of your material handling team.
But First… Forklift Operator Certification
OSHA requires that all forklift operators complete a training course specific to the type of forklift they will be driving and to the environment within which they will be working.
When hiring new forklift operators, regardless of whether they have forklift experience or not, they need to get certified to operate the forklifts in your facilities’ fleet. Using a battery-powered forklift in a cold storage warehouse is a far different task from driving an internal combustion outdoor forklift on a construction site.
Even experienced forklift operators will need training for the specific trucks in your facility. You can work with a material handling specialist like Apex Material Handling which offers customized training designed specifically for your workplace.
Traits to Look For In New Hires – As stated earlier, forklift operators are in demand. If you’re fortunate enough to find a candidate with previous forklift operation experience, you’re ahead of the game, because that person has probably been certified and is aware of the safety protocols and productivity demands that operating a forklift entails. But you also may have to ‘grow your own’. In that case, there are traits, skills and abilities that can put your new hire on the fast track to becoming a successful forklift operator. Here are some things to look out for.
Appreciation of the Importance of Safety – Whether you are hiring an experienced forklift driver or a newbie, it’s important to assess the candidate’s safety awareness. Patience is often an overlooked skill but is needed to make sure a load is correctly positioned before moving the forklift. A person’s driving record is often a good barometer. If they’ve previously operated other types of industrial machinery, try to learn about their experiences in that role. Watching how a potential operator mounts and dismounts a forklift is often a good indicator of that person’s attitude toward safety.
Ability to Communicate and Calculate – Try to hire someone who is at least a high school graduate. Working in a warehouse or factory environment is going to require skills such as calculating weights, heights and distances, understanding loads and capacities, reading and analyzing bills of lading, completing pre-shift checklists and communicating issues with the vehicle or with the loads being moved.
A Sense of Responsibility and Reliability – Although no candidate gives potential employers references that will provide a negative review, you can often learn a lot from checking a person’s references. Reliability is important to your organization, as the person you are hiring is part of the supply chain, and is responsible for getting goods to their destination in an efficient and timely manner.
An Aptitude for Technology – With so much automation taking place in the warehouse and factory, your forklift candidate may be facing a lot of ‘screen time’ in his or her job. Make sure your potential forklift hire is comfortable with entering data into a vehicle-mounted or hand-held device. Also, make sure they understand alarms and notifications on those devices that might indicate a load safety issue or mechanical problem with the forklift. Your operator may also be called on to enter and analyze data in your inventory management system.
Physical and Mechanical Skills – Forklift operators don’t always spend the day sitting on their forklifts and driving pallets around a warehouse. They are often called on to pick, lift and move cartons and boxes. Your candidate should have the ability to physically lift and move a specified amount of weight. They will also need to learn some basic forklift maintenance skills, like removing doors and covers, checking fluid and fuel levels, understanding battery conditions, and tightening forks and attachments.
Interpersonal Skills – Being part of a material handling operation is not like toiling alone in a laboratory. Your potential forklift operator must be a team player who knows how to communicate with other warehouse personnel with the end goal of getting product moved, stored and shipped with maximum efficiency. Your operator will be dealing with many different people—truck drivers, warehouse workers, inventory management specialists, and maintenance professionals. Having the skill to manage those relationships is an asset.
To sum up…
Driving a two-ton forklift loaded with two tons of product through a warehouse is an awesome responsibility and requires a whole set of very specific skills. Your new forklift operator will need thorough training to become capable of working an eight-hour shift safely and efficiently. And OSHA requires that they are evaluated and potentially receive updated training every three years. The training specialists at Apex can help you set up a training and certification program for your new hires and create an ongoing schedule for retaining your current forklift team. When it comes to material handling in the Chicagoland area, Apex is your go-to supplier for forklifts, parts, services…and training.