Document QMJbZM0O5exVKoVMVx15vRr1E

newal, after each accident, injury, or extended illness, or at other appropriate intervals A fair amount of intelligence is required, together with respect for the safety of person nel and property It should be made clear to operators that they carry considerable re sponsibility and that reckless or careless oper ation will not be tolerated They should be checked on the job from time to time for ob servance of this rule Each plant should adopt a set of rules governing the operation of powered industrial trucks Because plant conditions and equip ment vary widely, rules which cover specific conditions should be set up For ready identification, many companies issue badges to authorized truck operators Badges also tend to remind operators of their responsibilities and give them pnde in their job Training A truck incompetently operated may cause severe injury or substantial property damage, no company can afford even one improperly trained truck operator Many companies have set up operator training programs Truck manufacturers can often supply course out lines, instructors' manuals, study text, films, and booklets for training in correct operation and safety Five-day training program A brief discussion of a five-day training course for lift truck operators follows A de tailed description and discussion of this course is available from the manufacturer who supplied the information Courses for train ing operators of other types of powered indus trial trucks are also available A classroom and a paved practice area, at least 50 ft square, should be provided Each class should have no more than five trainees The course is based on four principles tell, show, practice, correct As indicated in the sample outline of curriculum (Fig 22-18), each day's session should be divided between classroom work and practical instruction m the practice area with the trucks On the second and each following day, the session should open with a quiz covering the previous day's work Each trainee should have a record card showing the day's progress and his own weak points He and his in structor should try to eliminate these weak points before the next step is undertaken The final examination should take the form of qualification tests, which require the trainee to demonstrate his skill in handling the truck, his judgment, and his knowledge of safety, basic matenals-handhng, and preventive maintenance A certificate of graduation, which may be an official operator's permit, should be issued upon successful completion of the course Practical training and testing are conducted on obstacle courses consisting of pallets set on end in patterns designed to simulate box cars, aisles, material piles, and other ob structions (Fig 22-19) These obstacle courses and the maneuvers required to nego tiate them have been largely standardized m operator training programs all over the country In many training courses, the final qualifying examination consists of one or more test problems presented on the obstacle course The instructor may be provided with a checklist and test sheet (Fig 22-20) upon which he grades the prospective op erator as he observes the performance Many other points may be included in the checklist, such as failure to look behind when backing, failure to inspect the load before starting, failure to center the forks properly under the load, and traveling with forks raised too high Although other training programs may vary in details from the example given, it demon strates the essentials of good training pro cedures, which include 1 Physical qualification 2 Aptitude selection 3 Classroom instruction and testing 4 Field instruction and testing 5 Authorization only upon satisfactory com pletion of training In some training courses, the candidate is issued a student badge upon successful com pletion of the training course, and can qualify (Text continues on page 630 ) Donald R Holm, "Selecting and Training Fork Truck Operators " Reprinted from Space Magazine liv the Hyster Company, Portland, Ore 627