Tips On Saving Plant Time On Operators Training

Professionals who require renewal of certification and licenses often face the same predicament. It’s difficult to get time off from work in order to schedule a refresher training and assessment. The same applies for forklift operators who have to attend a forklift operator training course to renew their licenses.

Also, company owners and managers have to struggle with releasing essential refresher training and renew their licenses as this will have an impact on the company’s performance when there are no staff on site.

Finding the right kind of agency to provide the forklift operator training course on site is a smart solution. However, it’s often expensive.

If you have a warehouse or distribution centre and you need to schedule refresher forklift training, here are tips on how you can save your valuable business on operators training.

Contract an Accredited Trainer to Train on Site

This is the traditional approach which businesses use to save on downtime and costs.  Instead of having your operators packing up and travelling to a training centre, convert your facility to be the training centre and get in touch with a qualified trainer who is able to visit the premises.

It’s a very convenient way of preparing your operators for renewal of forklift license. All you have to do is to make arrangements with the trainer and with the staff for a suitable time. Since nearly all equipment that is used during the training is available on site, it’s easier and less expensive to have the trainer come over.

Choosing the right training agency or the right trainer can be a little overwhelming. You can check the thoroughness of the program if it captures the training and evaluation specified in the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) regulations.

Adopt a Computer-aided Online Curriculum

Although not as costly as sending an entire team to a training centre, having a certified forklift trainer on site for several days attracts its fair share of expenses. You can cut down some of these expenses with a little creativity.

Forklift training is now offered through the digital spaces. Some training agencies offer computer-aided training curriculum online.

This makes scheduling and undertaking sections of the required coursework easier and operators can learn at their own pace. Moreover, online courses are evaluated among international health and safety standards, making them more robust and flexible.

As long as the training is up to speed with OSHA regulations and covers the assessment requirements, online forklift training is excellent for both business and operator.

Forklift Simulator and Virtual Environment

Physical forklift training onsite and online programs are exciting but also carry some risks and limitations.

No matter how careful or experienced a trainer is, there is always the risk of accidents happening when training. Especially when introducing novice forklift operators to the machine.

The business always bears the risk unless the training is conducted at an external training facility owned by the training agency.

However, forklift simulators and virtual environments have changed the status.

Now, novice operators can learn the operations of a forklift in a “fail-safe environment.” Trainers too can simulate various scenarios to impart specific safety tips and knowledge without risking injury or accidents.

The initial cost of acquisition of simulators or constructing the multi-user virtual environment can be high. However, the returns received are enormous, from more thorough training to significant savings of business time.

To conclude, business time is valuable time. You need all your operators on the deck to maintain your competitive edge. These tips will help you perform forklift training with little impact on employee or business time.