Mandatory training hours

Today’s blog features comments from David Hooper, president of Forklift Training Systems, Newark, OH, which originally appeared at Forkliftaction.com:

“As a U.S. based trainer, I have not dealt with any standards that require a specific number of hours to certify an operator, unlike other countries’ standards. Mandatory hours are both good and bad. The positive side is that you can at least ensure drivers have a certain number of hours under their belts before they are qualified to operate on their own. The downside is it does not allow the flexibility to fast track people who are more advanced, or to deal with folks who are slower learners.

Some trainers may have a problem with a required number of hours since it cuts their flexibility. However, I would ask whether it is better to have no required hours at all. It scares me that some operators in the U.S. get only minutes of operation before they are certified to operate.

One solution might be to keep mandatory hours fairly low and then allow more or less time, depending on what the trainer sees in the student. Some operators might progress immediately into the final evaluation stage, while others would enter remedial training.

Nothing can replace a seasoned trainer’s opinion of an operator. But mandatory hours guidelines could assist in getting operators prepared to succeed in the workplace.”

Thanks, David!