(When it comes to forklift operation)

Most employers know that Federal Regulations in place since 1999 require Forklift Safety Training in 22 areas (OSHA 29CFR 1910.178 effective December 1999). Such training must be done by a qualified person. It must include observation of individual operator skills; site specific hazard identification and training; specific control orientation. It must be documented.

Yet 80% or more of Rocky Mountain Regional Employers are not in compliance with these regulations

One problem- We lead ourselves to think experience is training. It isn't.

We see familiar operators driving around the warehouse as they have for ten years or more. We know they are not wearing seat belts, we know they don't stop at intersections. But we don't correct the situation. This is the way we have always done things and no one has had a major accident. We are operating on the feeling, experience substitutes for training. "Our guys are very experienced."

This reminds me of the old expression "Ten years of experience doing the wrong thing is 10 years of bad experience". One of the most "at risk" groups of forklift operators are the "experienced guys" - who were never properly trained; who haven't had training refreshed in years; who simply get careless.

Don't be lulled into the "Experience is Training" syndrome. Gain the benefits of professional forklift operator training-and be compliant.