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Hey hey everyone. Marty T Hawkins with Warehouse and Operations as a Career back with you. I hope everyone has had a prosperous, productive, safe, and awesome first half of the year. Tomorrow, July 2nd is our halfway point for 2021, the first day of the rest of the year! I know all my planning and goal talk is a lot of blah blah blah to some of you, and that’s cool. But some are reaping the benefits of a good solid plan! I’ve been told that I break every year into two pieces. And I do, and its intentional! I kind of use day 182 each year as my benchmark indicator. If I’m not where I want to be, I can adjust. I can speak to my management team if I’m not where I want to be. I always take a moment to check my paystub for week 26. If I double the earnings column and I’m not happy with that amount I have plenty of time to step it up and turn it on! Anyway, I don’t want to go down that rabbit hole today, so we’ll get back to op’s. If you’d like to know anything about some easy side hustles I’ve used and helped others get started with just shoot us an email to host@warehouseandoperationsasacareer.com.
Counterbalance Forklifts or the sit-down lifts. I’ve received several emails recently regarding either training, certifications or why can someone not get hired as a forklift operator so today I wanted to answer one listener’s question in particular.
A gentleman wrote something like he had seen several advertisements for forklift operators at a really good payrate so he paid for and took an OSHA Certification Class, he passed and was given his forklift license, and nobody will hire him. He has been on 6 interviews.
OK, if you’re a long-time listener you know that I’m going to have a lot to say about paying for PIT training but let’s talk for a minute about the sit-down forklift.
I loved my time on the counterbalance. I operated them for, oh, about 5 years I guess and then the company I was with recalibrated their aisles and brought in the narrow aisle standups so we could have more aisles and slots in the building.
So, the counterbalance lift. I think one of the first things we should learn, and I hope whoever is training us points out that our center of gravity is key when lifting freight. We have to understand how our lifts center of gravity is always changing. Tilting our mast forward, changes our center of gravity. Moving our carriage or forks side to side with the side shift, changes our center of gravity. Even if we have the same weight on a pallet but we distribute that weight differently, say on a longer pallet, our center of gravity changes because we’ve moved more freight forward. Believe it or not you can feel your center of gravity.
Next, I’m sure your trainer will point out that a forklift drives differently than a car. Most of our light industrial lifts, putaway and replenishment types will steer from the back. You can have the standard 4 wheel models but there’s 3 wheel models as well. And now there’s a couple of models with roller wheels, you can literally 0 turn them.
And a few safety functions. First there will be a seat belt. If it’s not there don’t get on the lift! Many units will come with a strobe light. Recently we’re seeing those blue perimeter light kits being installed, warning pedestrians and other operators that a forklift is approaching. You should be taught that a pre-trip must be filled out before using the equipment. Every time. It’s the law. It’ll be important to take your pre-trip seriously, it could very well save your life or your peers life.
When I’m training people I really work on the turn! As mentioned, a bit ago, a lift turns differently. The rear or butt of the lift swings out and wide when turning. We have to remember that and allow room when in tight areas.
And I hope, even when just being trained, that our trainer points out how dangerous entering & exiting trailers are. Dock plates are typically made of steel. Coming off of concrete, onto steel, and then into a trailer, well, it can get squirrely on us. A damp or wet dockplate or trailer can be disastrous for us. Just last month I heard about a lift coming off of a dockplate onto a wet floor in a container and he ended up punching a hole into the side of it. Don’t be that person!
All that sound dangerous right? Well, it’s not if you respect them, learn how to operate them, and stay focused on their use. As with everything else, experience makes us efficient, productive and safe.
Alright, so back to the gentleman that wrote in. So many times, I hear the same story, and it’s just not fair. I can understand, we’re seeking employment and we notice all these forklift positions that seem to pay better than the general labor jobs. We may have heard that forklift operators had to have a license or be certified so we go online and find a company that says we can train, and OSHA certify you to operate a forklift. In my part of the country here’s how it works. You pay your money. Then you sit through a 2 to 2.5 hour class, mostly video, and then go out to the equipment. Your instructor will show you how to perform a pre-trip and then demonstrate how to operate the lift. You’ll then, under their supervision, mimic their demonstration, the figure 8 course and maybe lift or place a pallet. You’ll be issued a laminated license and given a sheet of paper containing a list of staffing companies that have forklift openings that week. You are not prepared to hit the job market seeking forklift positions. Oh, and let me add that although you have gone through the classroom portion of the standard or program, remember that it’s a two-step process. After the classroom portion we have to be observed in the warehouse we’ll be working at and on the type of equipment we will be using by a trained trainer before we should be given that license or deemed certified or having completed PIT training!
Let’s think about it. A forklift is a huge heavy machine. Our warehouse contains aisles with slots or locations and millions of dollars’ worth of merchandise. Can an employer hire us with no experience, pay us that forklift wage and then train us to operate a lift? No. That pay is for an experienced operator. That makes sense, right?
Now the proper way to become an equipment operator is to plan to be one. There are just no short cuts.
First of all, don’t pay for that license or training. Your employer is going to give it to you for free.
Second, you will have to have experience to be successful. Even if you’re a natural you have to gain that knowledge of how the warehouse works, what the equipment is for etc.
And the last important thing I’ll say about it today is that But I’m a fast learner will not cut it for this position.
So how do I learn to operate a forklift and get paid for it you ask?
First let’s identify where we want to work. A few warehouses within the distance we’re willing to commute to. Then apply to any position to get our foot in the door. General Labor, Sanitation, Utility positions, anything we have a little experience doing. We’re going to show up on time for every shift and do our best with the task at hand, we’re going to be that employee! Then after oh, let’s say 30 to 60 days we’ll let our manager know that our goal is to learn to operate the counterbalance forklift. We’ll probably be trained and promoted within a year, with that raise that we wanted. Experience, there’s just no way around it. And for safety’s sake we wouldn’t want it any other way right!
It’s hard. I understand we want it now. And we are very confident in our abilities. But this is our careers, they take time but a job we love is worth the time.
Speaking of being confident, I want to talk about PPE’s for a minute. Simple things like a safety vest, ear plugs, blackbelts, steel toe shoes or boots, the simplest daily protections need to be worn and more importantly we need to understand why we wear them. Ask any safety guy, PPE’s are the last resort. When analyzing a job hazard processes and procedures are written to reduce harm or take it out of the equation. PPE’s may be determined as that piece of additional protection, just in case. There is a reason they are required I assure you. Maybe a vest policy was added because there had been too many near misses on the front dock area. Steel toes could have been added because several instances of toe bruising, maybe around pallets or buggies rolling up on the toes, or product falling out of trailers. There is a reason we’re asked to wear them. I promise you there is not 5 people setting in a room thinking up these policies! There driven by occurrences or concerns. Wear them. I’ve known way too many associates that have been injured or terminated because they were not wearing their required PPE’s.
Ok, I’ve got to quit talking and get some reporting done! I hope I brought you a small piece of knowledge today or at least something for you to think about!
Until next week, be safe, we have people wanting to see us!