by Bob Hayward | Jan 11, 2019 | Employment & skills, Industry news, Training courses
Almost 1,000 workers in the UK are seriously injured every year in forklift accidents, according to the Forklift Truck Association. From load falls to tip-overs to pedestrian casualties, winter weather can make operating a forklift truck highly dangerous for even the most experienced drivers, not to mention extremely challenging. Even with modern technology and advanced machinery, snowy and icy conditions pose risks for all forklift truck operators.
Here at Key Performance Training, we are a leading provider of training in the forklift industry, so we know how important it is to be fully equipped with the right knowledge and skills. Read our guide on improving forklift truck safety in cold weather, so you and your employees can drive safely at work in the winter months.
Wear the right clothing
Employees operating forklifts in the winter months are likely to be working in very cold or even freezing temperatures. Too much exposure to the cold can cause health problems as serious as hypothermia and frostbite, which is why drivers need to wear the right clothing during their workday.
Thermal workwear including body warmers, fleece jackets, insulated hats and warm gloves are vital for employees operating in winter. A high-quality pair of work boots is also essential to keep your feet warm and dry while minimising the chance of slipping over on icy paths. Don’t forget to put on a high-visibility vest as well, to ensure you can be seen in all conditions. Most of the clothing required to improve forklift safety in winter can be found at Zoro.
Install tyre chains.
All forklift drivers will know that having the right tyres is essential. As well as choosing strong, thick tyres which are durable and long-lasting, it is also recommended to have tyres with a deep, robust tread area. That’s not just the case for cold weather, though: well-maintained tyres are vital for forklift trucks, no matter what the weather conditions are.
But to make tyres even safer in winter, think about installing tyre chains to your forklift truck. These are designed to provide better traction in snow, which reduces the chances of drivers losing control on icy surfaces. Snow Chains offer a variety of tyre chains in different sizes, which can be easily fitted to most forklift trucks and then removed when the weather’s warmer.
Consistent maintenance is key
It is especially important to maintain a forklift truck in winter to avoid any accidents. Checks such as examining fluid levels, warning lights and the battery are some things operators should do every day. There are also obvious issues which should be looked for, including leaks and bodywork problems.
But there are further tests drivers should be carrying out in winter to make sure their forklift is completely safe to operate. For example, you need to take extra care with trucks fuelled by liquid propane, as their coolant system can freeze in cold weather. It’s worth taking additional safety measures and purchasing a winter forklift service.
Provide full forklift training
If your employees have not been fully trained on operating a forklift in winter, they should not be driving it. Driving a car is simply not the same as handling a forklift truck and there are many more skills you need to have. Plus, when it comes to winter, supplementary knowledge is required to make sure you are completely prepared for harsh weather conditions.
Key Performance Training provides expert training on operating forklifts, including refresher training for those who need a reminder of how to work safely in winter. You can find out more about our forklift training courses here.
Staying safe in winter can be difficult for even the most experienced forklift truck drivers. But if you wear the right clothing, install additional protective gear, maintain your truck correctly and have it comprehensively serviced, you can greatly reduce the risk of danger. It’s also recommended to take forklift truck training courses, so you know the proper procedures for operating in cold weather.
by Bob Hayward | Oct 4, 2018 | Employment & skills, Our News, RTITB, Training courses
A career as a trained fork lift truck driver can be one of the most fulfilling careers in the construction or distribution industry, key performance training specialise in training for the fork lift truck drivers. You can be sure that training for a career as a qualified forklift truck driver will assure you of a career that will span a lifetime. Almost everything in every home or business premises was once on a forklift truck. Even the simple pencil, was in a box, along with a few others, which were all on a pallet and that pallet was moved more than once by a forklift truck.
Almost everybody who runs a successful company will also run training for their employees the ability for their workers to advance themselves not only will this give the company more valuable resource is in the form of better able staff will also promote a greater feeling of well-being in the employee which will in turn enable to live a better life and so training in effect becomes the catalyst for happier workers a better and more effective workforce and much higher productivity within the company.
Within the forklift driving industry historically it has been viewed that individuals will have less of a leaning towards academia and this could have contributed towards their decision to seek employment within this industry in the first place, maybe school and learning wasn’t for them, this in turn has over the years lead to a belief that those operatives working within this industry would struggle with training courses, however nothing could be further from the truth.
More and more our industry is being seen as a professional career path and therefore training within the industry has to offer enough scope to allow workers to feel that there is possibility of progression, this in turn will benefit the industry by helping to retain valuable experienced forklift truck drivers and who knows, in time they may go on to become the next generation of trainers themselves, certainly there can be no replacement for true knowledge and experience in any industry with this one being no different.
There are so many opportunities arising within our industry with warehousing constantly on the increase, the construction, retail industry and many more are all requiring the skill of professional forklift truck drivers, therefore there will constantly be a need for Centres of excellence in training to put on high-quality up skilling opportunities for forklift truck drivers. As such annual refreshers may become the norm rather than the current practise of only refreshing once every three years.
by Bob Hayward | Jul 25, 2018 | Employment & skills, RTITB, Training courses
At Key Performance Training we of course know that training is most definitely the key ingredient in making life for individuals more successful and pleasurable, investing your time and of course your money in training is actually to invest in your or your employees life. Your future and of course your family’s future. A Reach Driver typically earns more than a Picker and Packer. LGV Drivers earn more than many office workers.
Training at work was mostly seen as some kind of either reward or punishment in the past but now things are changing today and switched on businesses understand that training their staff and workforce is an absolute vital function, there are of course good reasons for this.
First of all it is expected that today’s employees don’t want to work where they are not offered development and whether for personal or professional reasons people don’t want to be in a business where they are not kept kept up-to-date fully trained and given the opportunity to develop themselves into their full potential.
Secondly the speed of change in all of our industries workplaces, that includes technology, products and manufacturing, new skills are required constantly. Driver CPC training is a legal requirement to be constantly refreshed. The highway code changes. UK laws that affect driving change. Just because you did Tacho Training five years ago does not mean you know the current rules. Counterbalance and Reach Forklift licences need refreshing every three years because things change, technology changes and best practice develops and improves.
Training enables people to keep up-to-date with the market, it enables them to stay competitive, it enables them to keep step with their own organisation’s plans for the future and be a valuable cog in a well oiled machine.
Thirdly businesses now understand, more than ever, that their workforce is their most valuable asset and making the most of their workforce is what training is all about. That is also what Key Performance Training is all about as a company; training skills that are essential in the modern business organisation. We are committed to developing quality training and thereby enhancing the talent available in a workforce in order to meet ever increasing skills gap in the modern workplace. Often before Peak (September – December for many UK Companies) creating a more flexible workforce by training extra people in key skills like Forklift Driving can significantly improve OTIF (On Time In Full) scores. At the least refresher for Forklift Drivers and CPC Sessions for HGV Drivers can ensure that your current team are up to date and legally allowed to operate.
Study after study has shown that there is a direct link between training a workforce and organisational performance, a report from the National Economic Office showed that high-performance companies spent nearly 10 days training each individual every year compared to just two training days for what turned out to be low performance companies, we at Key Performance Training want to turn around this trend and bring all companies up to speed with modern skills training.
Another study published by the Policy Studies Institute found that individual employees were worth an additional 6% in pay for each one month of training that they took part in.
A certain digital printer and photocopier organisation, Xerox, is a perfect example of these training truths they spend on each member of staff in their workforce least £1,600 every year and their multi billion pound turnover worldwide shows exactly why they do this. It is no accident that those companies that invest in training their workforce are those companies that are market leaders in whatever their industry happens to be.
A truly switched on company will track peoples performance in their workplace in all sorts of different ways, targets, standards, competence.
Setting someone to target to reach and then simply measuring whether they reach it or not is of course one of the simplest ways to monitor performance we at Key Performance Training ensure that we have possession of all of the facts on every individual that we provide training for.
Having standards allows us to measure different peoples performances against preset levels for standards such as an average or high and low level and again Key Performance Training can help with setting the standards within your industry. Measuring competence becomes much easier and falls into place once the previous two have been met assessing an individual’s complete competence is made so much easier once they have undergone a full assessment.
We live in times of rapid change in both business and work are now driven by constantly changing dynamic external factors. In some instances global competition, in other instances technology, and even evolving markets, create a demand for quality goods and services that require changes in skills and attitudes. In the past training employees often only took place now and again. This cannot any longer be the case in an ever changing and evolving workplace only those that stay well ahead of the curve will ultimately survive, both as individuals and businesses. Key Performance Training has got your back and will supply you with the training to up-skill your workforce and keep you competitive in this ever-changing climate.
If you want to learn more about Forklift Driver Training and LGV Driver CPC Training – contact us here
by Bob Hayward | Jul 9, 2018 | Employment & skills, Our News, RTITB, Training courses
Here at Key Performance Training we have one goal and that is to improve your life, the key aspect of this is the training that we provide. As a leading provider of quality training in this industry we go to great lengths to make sure that you benefit from the most innovative and industry leading training and experience.
Employers don’t just pay attention to your qualification, unsurprisingly they also like to know where your training was undertaken and who the training provider was, as there are trainers who supply the minimum requirement to pass and then there are trainers who go above and beyond in order to make sure that they are developing the best possible operators in each candidate, trainers who ensure that when you pass and gain your qualification it will be to the highest industry standard possible.
Key Performance Training go the extra mile for their students knowing that word-of-mouth is quite simply the best form of advertising and our candidates are going out into the workplace with the highest standard of training experience available to them, both employers and potential new candidates will come to us before anyone else.
As a provider of the highest quality training in our industry Key Performance Training is continually looking for ways to improve the level of service and the quality of training provided to our candidates, you can be rest assured that when choosing to place your trust in us at Key Performance Training you are placing your trust in the leading training provider in the Industry.
The fact is that forklift truck drivers are very sought after and gaining a qualification that allows you to walk into employment in this industry can only be a positive thing, it is not only a path into a better career but for some people can be a path into employment itself.
Taking a course to become a professional forklift truck driver with Key Performance Training makes great sense for anyone looking to Improve their employment prospects or even move into better employment, there are many jobs available within the industry and it is crying out for professional drivers.
Call us today at Key Performance Training to find out what we can do for you to make the future brighter.
by Bob Hayward | Jul 3, 2018 | Employment & skills, Our News, RTITB, Training courses
Putting training and individual safety at the top of our agenda is the key to a better life while forklift truck training.
If you are one of those people who work in a warehouse and see all around you the opportunities that could be yours if only you had the right training to drive a forklift truck, then you have come to the right place. Key Performance Training is all about giving individuals the life skills to help them get the better standard of living and career that they truly deserve.
At Key Performance Training we’re determined that every bit of training we deliver leads to a qualification that will be centred around keeping you safe.
Our training courses focus on you the individual and the quality of training and learning you will experience here at Key Performance Training will allow you to go into the workplace with skills and knowledge to keep you and all those around you safe.
Around a quarter of all accidents in warehouses involve forklift trucks in one way or another and although it may seem a small and unimportant thing it isn’t.
Incorrect use of forklift trucks can and do ruin individuals lives and can even result in business failure.
