Forklift Training Tips and Advice –An Interview with Peter Winding

What is the most common incident?
“The most common incident by far is collision. Ankle injury is the most common injury of all, according to the accident figures. Tip-overs caused by turning with a raised load is another common accident. Experience doesn't come into it, it could happen to anybody.”

One of the main ways to prevent forklift collisions is to create safe walkways. Read our blog ‘Creating Safe Walkways in Your Warehouse’ to find out more.

What do you consider the best approach to maintaining a high safety level?
“Training. The people we train are only with us a short time until they’re approved. The real learning starts back at their workplace when they put what they’ve learnt into practice, and that's the real challenge. It’s important for everybody to have a safety mindset and to watch out for anything that could constitute a risk. Information and encouragement from employers are vital, like encouraging people to speak up if they happen to drive into somebody or something. Axelent is very good in this respect."

As people tend to feel shame and embarrassment when they break something, it's important that employers stress that nobody will be hung out to dry. This is the best way to avoid serious injuries and damage. Taking continuous measures is vital. If something’s not fixed, then at least ten new incidents will follow in its wake. If you fix something immediately you minimise the risk of a more serious incident further down the line.”