Should Forklift Training Be A Fixed Feature In Your Warehouse?

Warehouse management is rarely a walk in the park. Here, your team members regularly have to handle dangerous heavy equipment, and work shifts that run well into the night. It’s a satisfying job but a hard one, and it isn’t always easy to know how you can keep everyone happy. 

Hence why you may naturally gravitate towards machinery that lessens the working load. The use of forklifts makes it easier for employees to transport heavy containers across the warehouse space. 

Unfortunately, forklifts are also an additional cause for warehouse accidents meaning that, despite your good intentions, blindly unveiling forklifts in this space could cause more issues than it solves. Overcoming this potential setback is easiest if you focus on training your entire team, rather than one or two individuals. If you aren’t convinced, keep on reading to find out a few benefits of introducing forklift training as standard. 

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Encouraging Efficiency

Warehouse efficiency is impossible if untrained team members have to unload deliveries or carry large loads manually. This can make your team miserable, and can significantly decrease overall outputs.

Forklifts that can easily carry large loads across your entire warehouse can significantly increase the speed of warehouse work. This is especially the case if they’re paired with benefits like warehouse doors that incorporate custom extension springs and automated opening systems to further enhance the ease of warehouse movement. 

By training every single member of your team in forklift use, and by keeping on top with refresher courses, you can more than double your outputs, while making each shift easier for everyone. 

Improved Safety All-Round

Forklifts aren’t as dangerous as a lot of people believe, and account for just 1% of warehouse accidents. But these serious pieces of equipment aren’t exactly harmless fun, either. And, they become even more dangerous if half of your workers have no idea of requirements like keeping a certain amount of bays between themselves and a working forklift. There’s also a risk of untrained team members using forklifts without your knowledge, which would leave you liable for significant legal action if an accident occurred. 

Whole-team forklift training eliminates these setbacks by ensuring full health and safety awareness and hazard recognition. You’d never have to worry about a team member acting irresponsibly, or outside of safety regulations, because they’ll have a certificate and the knowledge that goes with it. 

Much-Needed Morale Boosts

Unlike a lot of on-the-job training, forklift licenses are generally transferable amongst employers. A forklift certificate is the proof of a skilled worker who’s labor is worth a great deal, meaning that all employees can benefit from your taking the time to prioritize training. 

As well as improving morale, offering forklift training, and covering the costs, can encourage a higher quality of job applicants. This will make your team stronger, and not just because of the knowledge you’re providing for them. 

If you’re on the fence about whether or not forklift training should be a fixed feature in your warehouse, let this article be proof of the benefits you could feel from taking the plunge.